Only three fuel tankers were visibly transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday – two of which are sanctioned by the US for alleged ties to Iran’s fuel shipments – amid the ongoing showdown between the US and Iran following US President Donald Trump’s announcement that the framework agreement reached with Tehran was effectively over.
According to vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic, two of the sanctioned tankers in the Strait of Hormuz were identified as liquefied petroleum gas tanker Solix and the crude oil tanker Berg 1 on Thursday.
A third vessel, an oil and chemical tanker operating under the Marshall Islands flag, was also tracked in the area. While not sanctioned, the vessel has reportedly exhibited behaviour associated with ship-to-ship fuel transfers since the beginning of the Iran war.
The Benin-flagged Berg 1 and the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker were both travelling out of the Persian Gulf carrying cargo via the northern shipping route, which Iran has insisted commercial vessels must use, while the Equatorial Guinea-flagged Solix was noted to be heading west into the Persian Gulf after departing from a Chinese port.
Additional vessels are also reportedly moving through the strait without broadcasting their locations by using a southern route near Oman’s coastline and switching off their tracking transponders due to concerns over Iran’s past attacks against three vessels this week.
That route has become increasingly contentious in recent weeks, with Tehran repeatedly arguing that ships should adhere to navigation arrangements approved by the Islamic Republic and attacking vessels on sight should they use the alternate route.
The deteriorating security situation has also left hundreds of sailors stranded in the region. Earlier this week, the head of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said around 600 seafarers remained trapped in the Persian Gulf and surrounding waters as the latest round of US-Iran hostilities intensified.
Iran has threatened to completely shut the waterway if further attacks are carried out against the country, while the US has vowed to respond militarily to any attempt to block international shipping through the strait, as well as threatening to reimpose its naval barricade of Iranian ports.
