Ammon News - Four commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, down from 10 ​a day earlier and below the 10-day average ‌of around 13, preliminary shipping data showed on Wednesday.

The four vessels that transited were one very large crude carrier, one ​Panamax tanker, one Kamsarmax carrier and one intermediate ​tanker, initial data from shiptracker Kpler showed at ⁠0200 GMT.

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Of the four vessels, one was entering the ​strait and three were leaving.

The figures could change as ​some ships typically switch off transponders during the voyage.

The United States said it had launched a series of air strikes against Iran ​on Tuesday, prompting Iranian retaliation, in the most ​serious escalation of the conflict between the two countries in weeks.

The ‌Islamic ⁠Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement the U.S. attacks would "tighten the lock" on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that carried about one-fifth of global ​oil consumption before ​the conflict.

Meanwhile, ⁠18 commodity vessels transited through the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday, another major ​maritime chokepoint in the Middle East, with ​seven vessels ⁠entering and 11 exiting.

This compares with an average of around 24 ships going through Bab el-Mandeb over the ⁠past ​10 days.

Among the vessels travelling ​through the strait were two Aframax tankers and one Suezmax tanker.


Reuters