Strait of Hormuz shipping volume plummets over 90% in March

[新华社 Micro-news] Since the outbreak of clashes between the U.S. and Iran, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz—the “choke point” for global energy transportation—has been severely disrupted. Data from market service organizations show that since March, the number of times merchant vessels have passed through this strait has fallen by 95% compared with before the conflict.

Citing data from market services firm Kepler, Agence France-Presse reported on the 23rd that from March 1 to 16:00 on March 23 Greenwich Mean Time, the number of times merchant vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz was only 144, which is 95% lower than the number before the conflict broke out on February 28. Of these, 91 transits were by ships transporting oil and natural gas, most of which sailed eastward away from the strait. Data from the multi-national entity “Joint Maritime Information Center,” led by the U.S. Navy, shows that before the conflict, about 138 ships passed through the strait each day.

AFP said that on the 23rd, the ships that appeared to pass through the Strait of Hormuz all seemed to use a northern route. It is claimed that this route lies north of Iran’s Larak Island and has been approved by the Iranian government.

The UK’s Lloyd’s List Shipping Daily reported on the 23rd that “shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continues to be severely disrupted,” and that more than 20 vessels using this route had already been tracked that day. The newspaper previously said that this route is similar to the “safe corridor” outlined by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps uses visual confirmation from Larak Island to verify ships passing through the strait.

Data from the International Freight Information Platform’s maritime traffic website shows that, amid constrained supply, since March 3, about 11 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers that were originally headed for Europe have diverted to Asia, which is closer and has higher spot prices.

JPMorgan analysts said that among observable oil shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran accounts for as much as 98%, with shipments at the start of March totaling 1.3 million barrels per day on average.

The Strait of Hormuz is a crucial maritime gateway for global oil transportation. As the only passage from the Persian Gulf to the outside world, the strait carries more than one quarter of the total volume of seaborne oil trade worldwide and about one fifth of the global LNG transport volume to destinations around the world. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that the daily average quantity of oil products shipped through the strait in 2024 was about 20 million barrels per day. (End) (Liu Xi)