Strait of Hormuz Traffic Is at a Standstill Again
The New York Times • • world
Key Points:
- Only three ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, a significant slowdown from the 24 ships that passed on Saturday, following Iran's reversal of its earlier decision to keep the strait open to commercial vessels amid a cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon.
- Iran returned the strait "to its previous state," leading to a near halt in traffic, with just one ship crossing on Sunday, according to maritime tracking firm Kpler.
- The UK Maritime Trade Operations center reported two recent incidents involving Iranian gun ships firing at a tanker without warning and a container ship being hit by an unknown projectile, prompting several vessels to reverse course.
- The International Maritime Organization noted that at least 20 vessels have been attacked in recent weeks, causing shipping companies to deem the situation too risky for navigation through the strait.
- The three ships that crossed on Monday were the Nova Crest (Barbadian flag), Starway (Liberia), and Axon 1 (Gambia), as tracked by Kpler.
