The number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz drops sharply, with only four commercial vessels passing on Monday.

⑴ Shipping data shows that ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped further at the start of this week, with only four merchant vessels recorded passing through the waterway on Monday—significantly fewer than the seven vessels the previous day—reflecting a sharp rise in market caution following the latest round of hostilities between the US and Iran.⑵ Of the four ships in transit, two were tankers exiting the strait, one carrying petrochemicals and the other empty, and two were ships entering the strait—a bitumen carrier and a tanker. During this period, there were no sightings of super-large crude oil tankers or liquefied natural gas carriers.⑶ On Tuesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported receiving information that a tanker had been struck by an unidentified projectile in the Strait of Hormuz. In addition, a Greek shipping company confirmed that two of its managed vessels were hit by projectiles of unknown origin along the coast of Oman on Monday, while another tanker was attacked by a drone at the port terminal of Novorossiysk, Russia.