Hormuz Shipping Crisis Escalates After Latest Tanker Attack
admin 
**Another Tanker Struck as Hormuz Shipping Crisis Deepens**
**By Irina Slav**
Yet another tanker has been struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report by the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) cited by DPA.
The incident follows a string of recent attacks on maritime transport in the area. Despite diplomatic efforts led by countries like Pakistan to bring Iran and the United States to the negotiating table and resolve the shipping disruption, these initiatives have yielded few results. Despite the ongoing threat to transport in the critical waterway, oil traders have maintained a highly optimistic outlook.
According to the UKMTO, the latest strike occurred on Tuesday in the waters between Iran and Oman, following an earlier attack on Monday off the Omani coast. Maritime intelligence firm Windward identified the targeted vessel as a Liberian-flagged Aframax tanker carrying 704,000 barrels of jet fuel, which subsequently managed to reach the port of Fujairah.
Amid the ongoing security threats, overall vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains significantly below historical averages. The decline persists even as Iranian and Omani officials discuss the potential establishment of a temporary shipping corridor to serve as an interim reopening measure.
Ship-tracking data from Kpler indicated that only five commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz in either direction on Tuesday, matching Monday’s low volume. This is a sharp decline from the 10-day average of 15 transits and represents only a small fraction of pre-conflict traffic levels.
Windward’s data for Wednesday recorded 11 inbound and six outbound transits through the strait. Among these, only six were tankers (three inbound and three outbound), all of which kept their transponders active. According to Windward, approximately 65% of the oil exported through the Strait of Hormuz is destined for China.
