Hormuz traffic sinks to one-week low as ships attacked, talks stagnate
The United States and Yemen's Houthi rebels carried out separate attacks on commercial ships on Tuesday in the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to its lowest numbers in a week as attacks on ships continued and US-Iran talks to reopen the critical waterway remained at an impasse.
Only eight vessels transited the strait on Tuesday, below the 10-day average of about 12 and the lowest count since Aug. 5, according to data released Wednesday by shipping analytics firm Kpler.
Adding to the uncertainty, the United States and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels conducted separate attacks on ships.
Yemen’s internationally recognized government said in a statement on Tuesday that six people were killed and 10 more injured by Houthi strikes on a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, at the southern gateway to the Red Sea. Yemen’s Transport Ministry said that the vessel was hit by three ballistic missiles south of the port of Mocha, causing a fire on board and killing four crew members: three Pakistanis and one Indonesian.
Later, Yemen's coast guard said a second deadly missile strike targeted rescuers who tried to evacuate the ship.
US Central Command said in a statement that on Tuesday, a US MH-60 helicopter fired two hellfire missiles into the engine room of the Panama-flagged M/V Vela Nova vessel as it attempted to transit the Gulf of Oman to bypass an American blockade on Iranian ports. CENTCOM said it attacked after the ship’s crew "ignored repeated warnings" from US forces. It did not mention any casualties.
Why it matters: Before the Iran war started on Feb. 28, between 130 and 140 ships typically transited the Strait of Hormuz, carrying around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. In response to Israel and the United States firing missiles at Iran, the Islamic Republic started attacking Israel, neighboring Gulf countries and commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, choking traffic in the critical waterway. The crisis in Hormuz has triggered a global energy shock and has caused major Gulf producers to recalibrate trade routes.
Washington and Tehran are unable to agree to a wider deal to end the war and curb the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. Although a fragile ceasefire was announced between the US and Iran in April, followed by a memorandum of understanding in June, both have been repeatedly violated and attacks continue. The Houthis joined the war in July, announcing a blockade on Saudi ports in the Red Sea, its alternative maritime route to the Strait of Hormuz.
The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is also at a stalemate. Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei said on Tuesday that the strait would stay closed unless Washington accepted its conditions, which include the US ending the war and unfreezing Iranian funds along with others that have been relayed through mediators, the Tasnim news agency quoted Rezaei as saying.
Know more: Brent crude fell by 0.3% to $88.65 as of 10:42 a.m. EDT. The price has risen by 7.13% over the last month.
In an interview released late on Monday with Real America’s Voice, President Donald Trump said that his current options in the war were to let Tehran fail economically or hit them “really, really hard.”
"I'm sort of negotiating," Trump said in the phone interview. "They're very devious negotiators."
Referring to frozen Iranian assets, he added, "Economically, they are a mess. They can't borrow money. We control their money, what they had, which is a lot. They had a lot, and we have total control of it. I'm their banker."
