Shipping data showed on Monday that the number of ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz remained low over the weekend, while the United States and Iran escalated their attacks.
Data released by the London Stock Exchange Group showed that four ships crossed the strait yesterday, Sunday, compared to eight ships the previous day.
The data showed that at least three oil product tankers and a giant crude oil tanker had entered the strait since Friday to load oil. The London Stock Exchange Group’s data covers the traffic of bulk, vehicle transport, and oil, gas, and chemical tankers.
No LNG tankers have been seen passing through the strait since Thursday.
Tankers and other ships sometimes turned off their transponders to mask their passage. The data showed that only one shipment of liquefied natural gas was known to have left the Gulf during the past week.
However, S&P Global analysts noted that LNG production and ship loading in Qatar and the UAE continued at a relatively strong pace despite disruptions to shipping heading out of the region, which leads to increased LNG inventory on board tankers waiting in the Gulf.
“If the actual blockade of the Strait of Hormuz eases in the coming weeks, these ships may enable a relatively rapid increase in exports, enabling the export of liquefied natural gas that has already been produced and loaded,” analysts stressed.
