Strait of Hormuz Vessel Traffic Plunges to Near Zero Amid Oil Market Calm
The Strait of Hormuz saw vessel traffic plunge to near zero over the weekend, yet international oil prices have not staged the surge that markets might have anticipated six months ago. The world’s most critical energy chokepoint is now locked in a peculiar stalemate: visible shipping activity has all but ground to a halt, while covert shuttle tanker operations, cooling global demand, and an unexpected surge in U.S. inventories have combined to form an invisible force capping oil prices.
According to shipping data firm Kpler, only five cargo vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, and no registered vessels crossed on Sunday — a dramatic collapse from the 31 recorded the previous weekend. Yet Brent crude for October delivery settled at $88.52 per barrel on Friday, down only about 1.7% for the month, while WTI for September settled at $82.40, down roughly 2.7% this month. Both benchmarks posted weekly gains of 6% and 5.4% respectively, driven by consecutive attacks on tankers operated by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and strikes on Saudi Aramco refining facilities.
Shadow Shuttle Operations: Over 4 Million Barrels a Day Moving Covertly
According to people familiar with shipping operations, Middle Eastern oil producers are pushing ahead with “shuttle” operations despite recent attacks on vessels — moving crude out of the Persian Gulf and through the Strait of Hormuz with Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) switched off, then transferring cargoes to waiting supertankers along the coast of the Gulf of Oman. This covert passage through the world’s most critical energy chokepoint has become a vital lifeline for global markets.
Anonymous sources said actual volumes exceed market estimates of 4 million barrels per day. Last week, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated that 9 million barrels of oil per day had transited the Strait of Hormuz over the previous seven days — a figure that surprised many traders, representing nearly half of pre-war levels. Before the conflict, approximately 20 million barrels per day flowed through the strait, accounting for roughly one-fifth of global oil supply.
LNG Ship-to-Ship Transfer: A Rare Contingency Measure
In the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector, suppliers are also adopting more extreme measures. Satellite imagery shows two LNG carriers apparently conducting a ship-to-ship transfer just outside the Strait of Hormuz. Images captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite on Saturday show the LNG carrier Enugu anchored parallel to another vessel near the Omani coastal city of Sohar in the Gulf of Oman. According to TankerTrackers.com, the second vessel has been identified as the Mraweh, owned by ADNOC, with its AIS transponder switched off.
Unlike oil, LNG ship-to-ship transfers are relatively rare and technically more challenging due to the need to maintain precise temperature control during the transfer process. This unusual contingency measure highlights the extraordinary measures being taken to ensure global energy supplies remain stable despite the ongoing crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.
Original Article: Hormuz Transit Drops to Near Zero Yet Oil Stays Calm — Shadow Tankers and Cooling Demand Act as Invisible Ballast — BigGo Finance — Biggo