Strait of Hormuz Ship docked as US, Iran resume strikes | Transportation

Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has fallen amid a renewed war between the United States and Iran, adding further stress to energy markets already reeling from the worst disruptions in history.

No large vessel has crossed the river via the US-linked channel while broadcasting its destination since Tuesday, with crossings through Oman’s embankment “almost halting”, Lloyd’s List Intelligence said on Thursday.

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“Lloyd’s List Intelligence data shows that no ships above 10,000 dwt have passed the so-called Southern Highway and their AIS has been turned off since July 7, although two ships are believed to have crossed the dark,” the marine data company said, using the summary of deadweight tonnage and system identification only for the US Presidential channel Donald.

Only five ships were tracked crossing the strait on Wednesday, and early Thursday morning, the Windward maritime intelligence platform said Thursday afternoon, compared to 45 crossings on Monday.

About 130 ships passed through the river, one of the most difficult in the world, every day before the war began in late February.

Iran reported several explosions in the south of the country on Thursday, following US strikes on several Iranian targets on Wednesday and Tuesday.

A US official told Al Jazeera that the US military was not behind the latest attacks, which should not be attributed to a particular country or group.

Iranian officials and journalists earlier on Thursday said Tehran’s military had struck US military bases and other facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Iraq in retaliation for the US strikes, which Washington launched in response to several attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Despite the latest turmoil in the region and the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices stabilized on Friday, following several days of gains.

Brent crude, the world’s main benchmark, stood at $76.37 a barrel as of 02:30 GMT, unchanged from Thursday’s settlement and down nearly 2 percent from Wednesday.

After returning to pre-war prices after Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding to end the war last month, Brent is worth more than $4 a barrel compared to last week.

While the stability in prices reflects “confidence in the market that things will stabilize” in the Middle East, the latest violence will increase the risk of an increase that is expected to increase in the coming weeks, said Bart Melek, head of global commodities at TD Securities in Toronto, Canada.

“With this, we see Brent moving $10-$15 during the summer, as oil and supplies are decreasing, stressing the chains,” Melek told Al Jazeera, referring to the three months to August.

June Goh, senior oil market analyst at Sparta Commodities in Singapore, said refined oil, rather than crude oil, is facing the biggest price challenges.

“Diesel, in particular, is struggling with the loss of production from Middle East refineries, and from Russian refineries that are constantly being attacked by Ukrainian drones, which has caused diesel prices to rise more than they have in a while,” Goh told Al Jazeera.

After the US S&P 500 index rose by 0.8% overnight, Asian markets opened on Friday, with big gains in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.9 percent in morning trade, while Seoul’s Kospi jumped 3.6 percent.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 1.4 percent.