Institution: The number of merchant ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped to 5 per day

Ship tracking agency Kpler's data released on August 31 shows that, due to fears of attacks, the number of visible commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to just five per day over the past weekend. According to related reports, on the weekend of August 29 to 30, all vessels traversing the strait were small ships, including two liquefied petroleum gas carriers. However, as some vessels turned off their automatic identification systems to avoid being targeted, the actual number of ships passing through the strait may be higher. On August 29, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi stated that the Strait of Hormuz is currently completely closed, and any vessel wishing to pass through must have coordination and permission from Iran. On August 30, the UK Maritime Trade Operations issued a notice reporting that a tanker was attacked by an unknown projectile while traversing the Strait of Hormuz on August 29. On August 30, the US military struck two rocket launchers on Iran’s Larak Island near the Strait of Hormuz. This was the first US military strike against an Iranian target in a month. The Strait of Hormuz is a key “chokepoint” for global energy transport, previously handling about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and product shipments, and is also an important liquefied natural gas transport route. However, due to the recent instability in the Middle East, passage through the strait has been intermittently disrupted. (Xinhua News Agency)