US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said around 18 million barrels of oil flowed from the Gulf on Tuesday, confirming that flows had returned to pre-war levels.
Flows return to pre-conflict levels
In an interview with Fox News, Wright said: “We have raised oil flows from the Gulf to record levels at the moment,” referring to the passage of around 18 million barrels on Tuesday, roughly equivalent to pre-conflict levels.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz declines
Meanwhile, preliminary data from Kpler, cited by Reuters, showed that the number of commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell to just four on Monday, compared with 10 the previous day.
The traffic included two bulk carriers that left the strait, one loaded and the other empty, as well as two oil tankers that entered the strait without cargo. The data may not cover all vessels in transit, as some ships may have switched off their automatic identification system devices to avoid detection.
Before the war with Iran began on February 28, the Strait of Hormuz typically received around 125 large commercial vessels a day, including oil and gas tankers, cargo ships and container vessels. Around 20% of the world's daily supplies of crude oil and liquefied natural gas pass through the strait, according to Reuters.
Security risks and stalled talks
The decline in shipping traffic came as security risks persisted in the region. Iran's Fars News Agency quoted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as saying that an oil tanker exploded and caught fire after striking mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
Gulf states also postponed talks with Iran on Monday that had been scheduled to discuss possible agreements concerning the Strait of Hormuz, dealing a setback to diplomatic efforts aimed at easing the conflict's impact on global oil supplies, according to Reuters.
In the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Kpler data showed that the number of commercial vessels transiting fell to 21 on Monday, compared with 28 the previous day.
