Hormuz shipping stays at a trickle as peace talks stall

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained at severely depressed levels on Tuesday, with just eight vessels transiting the waterway that once saw 130 to 140 daily crossings, as uncertainty over US-Iran peace negotiations left the vital chokepoint largely shut down more than five months into the conflict.

A Trickle Through the Strait

Eight vessels — five tankers and three bulk carriers — crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to data from vessel tracking service Kpler. Six vessels entered the strait while a gas carrier and a tanker exited. The figures represent a fraction of pre-war traffic; before the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28 and Tehran responded by closing the strait, roughly 130 to 140 ships transited daily.reuters+1

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said 2.6 billion barrels of crude have been lost from global supplies during the war, with current trade flows through the strait running at about one-tenth of pre-conflict levels. Matthew Wright, an analyst at Kpler, told the BBC that "in terms of threat to the trade of crude, we're at the worst period that we've been in since this crisis began".kq2+1

ADNOC Tanker and Security Concerns

A liquefied natural gas tanker controlled by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company reappeared outside the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, carrying cargo loaded from Das Island in the United Arab Emirates, according to LSEG London Stock Exchange Group plc and Kpler data. The Mubaraz departed Das Island on July 14 and is headed to India's Dahej terminal in Gujarat, marking its third successful exit from the strait since the war began.turkiyetoday+1

Separately, S&P Global ↗ 1.01% data showed crossings at Hormuz fell to 15 on August 3, down from 19 a day earlier, with five vessels conducting "dark transits" without visible tracking signals. The UK Maritime Trade Operations center reported a cargo vessel was struck by an unidentified projectile near the strait that same day.tribuneindia

Diplomatic Stalemate

Qatar said Tuesday that mediators were making progress in efforts to end the war, driving oil prices lower, though Tehran denied President Donald Trump's assertion that talks were already underway. Trump called the situation a "last chance" for Iran to reach a deal, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran "defends our borders, but we are not seeking to expand the war".sana+1

Traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait also held steady at 20 vessels — 10 entering and 10 exiting — though some ships may be sailing with transponders off. The conflict continues what Georgetown University professor Mehran Kamrava called "a very determined fight over who controls the Strait of Hormuz".reuters+1