Hormuz Tanker Traffic Slumps as U.S. and Iran Trade Threats

Tanker traffic via the Strait of Hormuz remained weak over the weekend, with fewer than 20 vessels traversing the chokepoint as Iran and the United States traded threats again.

Some 13 tankers passed through the strait on Saturday, with only four making the journey on Sunday, Kpler data cited by Reuters showed. That compares to 16 passing through the strait on Friday and one very large crude carrier exiting Hormuz on Thursday, the data also showed.

Over the week to August 21, a total of 103 vessels entered the Strait of Hormuz while 89 exited it, according to data from the UK Maritime Trade Operations. Of that total, 45% were tankers, and of these, oil tankers accounted for 56%, the data showed.

“Traffic remains well below normal levels, with AIS-detected transits approximately 90% below pre-conflict baselines and declining since the June 24 to June 26 peak, the UKMTO said, as quoted by Reuters.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Secretary threatened on Sunday “an economic D-Day” against Iran, saying in an op-ed for the Financial Times that “President Donald Trump and the overwhelming might of our military have significantly dismantled Iran’s military capabilities and weakened its nuclear programme. Now we are entering the endgame. At dawn begins an economic D-Day — the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary.”

In response, Iran threatened to stop all oil exports from the Persian Gulf. “If the economic war continues, not a single drop of ‌oil will be exported, neither through the Strait of Hormuz nor from anywhere in the Persian Gulf,” the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, said on social media.

Despite the exchange of threats, oil started the week lower in anticipation of the U.S. economic pressure campaign against Tehran, even though Secretary Bessent did not mention any specific details of that campaign.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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