Although the attack a day earlier on a container ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz may have led some vessel owners to reconsider plans to leave the area, data show that maritime traffic continued normally on Friday in both directions through the passage.
According to shipping-tracking data, two fully laden tankers were leaving the Persian Gulf, while along Oman’s coastline four very large crude carriers (VLCCs) were also moving inbound while empty. The southern corridor is administered by Oman and coordinated by the United States.
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Among the ships departing through the Strait of Oman are an Aframax tanker bound for India and a small tanker that is subject to US sanctions. Also entering the strait was a fully loaded VLCC carrying oil from the United Arab Emirates, together with a product tanker carrying cargo from the same exporter.
In the other direction, an empty VLCC bound for Basra, Iraq, entered the strait along with three other ships heading to the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, a natural gas carrier near Khor Fakkan also appears to be trying to pass through.
Some vessels have chosen to use the northern corridor off Iran, an alternative recognized by the International Maritime Organization, to exit the Persian Gulf. A South Korean-flagged product tanker, another bound for Indonesia, as well as a cargo ship, attempted to leave by sailing near the Iranian coast.
The attack on the Ever Lovely on Thursday, the first since the signing of the temporary US-Iran peace agreement, has caused some owners and captains to pull back, shipowners said. According to a memo seen by Bloomberg, at least one Asia-based company has revised its earlier plans to withdraw and informed employees that ships currently in the Gulf will have to remain in place while management reassesses transit options.
However, the strike does not appear to have completely halted the slow return to normality. According to Vortexa data, the daily average of tanker transits before the attack had risen to more than 20 a day after the agreement, compared with just six a day during most of the war.
The Strait of Hormuz and the way it is administered continue to be one of the main points of contention between Tehran and Washington. During this week, the United States said Iran must keep the strait tax-free and guarantee that ships are not charged fees if it wants a lasting peace agreement.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the Arab Gulf countries and said that if Iran imposes taxes in Hormuz, then nothing will stop other governments from doing the same at other maritime transport “chokepoints,” which he said would lead to chaos.
The United States is also pressuring Oman, which also borders the strait, not to create a joint tax regime with Iran. The sultanate has sent mixed signals. On Tuesday, it published a joint statement with Tehran saying both sides would discuss traffic management in the strait and the associated costs. On Thursday, Rubio said Oman had assured him it did not support the taxes.
“They signed the statement that said there would be no fees or taxes,” Rubio said, referring to a joint statement between the United States and the Gulf Cooperation Council, which said the parties “rejected any tariffs or attempts to impose control in the Strait of Hormuz.”
