LONDON 

Crude and liquefied petroleum gas (LNG) tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz have been seen heading to Asian ports, particularly those in China and India, as well as some revived activity in ports across the Gulf region and Latin America, data showed.

Following the joint strikes of the US and Israel on Iran, Tehran’s retaliatory move to effectively close the vital waterway to vessels linked to the attacking countries made logistics through the Strait of Hormuz increasingly complex while bringing vessel traffic to a standstill amid security concerns.

An average of 129 vessels transited through the Strait of Hormuz per day between Feb. 1 and 27, a day before the attacks, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

This figure dropped to an average of nine per day on March 1–31, a 95% decline in traffic, data from MarineTraffic showed.

Vessels transiting the strait have been primarily following a corridor established within Iranian territorial waters since March 15, which reportedly allows Iran to enforce controls on commercial vessels.

Iran is demanding a comprehensive list of documents from vessels granted passage through the Strait of Hormuz, including their International Maritime Organization (IMO) number, vessel ownership details, cargo information, destination, and a full crew list, an industry official told Anadolu⁠.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also reportedly conducts sanctions screening and cargo compliance checks primarily on oil and a so-called geopolitical review—ship operators are required to contact approved intermediaries linked to the IRGC before proceeding.

While passage via the strait is permitted following negotiations between countries and Tehran, some tankers and container operators make payments in Chinese yuan.

China, Pakistan, India, and Thailand have managed to obtain passage through diplomatic negotiations.

Iran reportedly permitted the passage of 20 vessels flying the Pakistani flag at a rate of two per day.

Out of 212 vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, some 24% were linked to Iran, 16% to Greece, and 10% to China, data from London-based Lloyd’s List Intelligence showed.

The two cargo ships Bern and Andermatt, registered under a Greek firm, were among those transiting the Strait of Hormuz last week, headed to the Port of Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates.

A large proportion of the vessels transiting the strait are commercial vessels on the sanctions list, often referred to as the shadow fleet, which primarily transports Iranian oil to Asia.

Many ships are emitting different codes like “Santos food for Iran” or broadcasting Chinese ownership or that they are awaiting orders via the automatic identification system (AIS) to indicate safe passage via the strait and their destination.

- Iran–Latin America food route

Some 46 commercial vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz between March 28 and April 2 (at ⁠1400GMT), and March 28 marked the busiest day during this period with 15 vessels.

Some ships exit the strait fully loaded, while others enter the Persian Gulf empty to load up cargo since traffic through the waterway flows both west-to-east and east-to-west. A portion of the traffic via the strait consists of vessel movements within the Gulf region.

Since the war began, Iran's Bandar Imam Khomeini Port has become the busiest port in the Middle East, as cargo ships primarily carrying food from Brazil and Argentina to Iran arrive at the port, with some cargo ships departing empty to continue to their destinations.

Among the vessels heading to the Bandar Imam Khomeini anchorage were the Panama-flagged cargo ship LB Energy, departing from Brazil’s Rio Grande Port, and the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel Ceci, embarking from Argentina’s San Lorenzo Port—both vessels broadcast identification labeled as food for Iran.

The Malta-flagged cargo vessel AYA is currently sailing empty from the Bandar Imam Khomeini Port towards Brazil’s Santos Port, expected to reach its destination by the end of the month.

The Iranian-flagged cargo vessel Andia departed fully loaded from the Bandar Abbas Port in the Persian Gulf and transited through the strait, expected to arrive at its destination, which was updated to “China” without a specific port, on April 18. The vessel is currently sailing along the Arabian Sea coast of the Indian Ocean.

- Chinese ports receive energy trade, crude oil, while Indian ports get petroleum

Iran’s Imam Khomeini, Bandar Abbas, and Rajaei ports, the UAE’s Fujairah and Khor Fakkan ports, Qatar’s Ras Laffan terminal, Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura, and Iraq’s Umm Qasr multi-purpose terminal serve as key points of departure for crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied petroleum gas (LNG) tankers bound for China, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Nearly all crude oil tankers bound for China carry Iranian oil, while these vessels mark their destination as “China” instead of a specific port.

Crude oil tankers are heading towards China fully loaded—one of them is the Cook Islands-flagged tanker KYLO, which, after passing through the strait and reaching the Gulf of Oman, listed its destination as solely “China.”

Meanwhile, most tankers traveling from China to the Middle East are empty aboard to load cargo.

There is limited cargo ship traffic between ports in Asia and the Middle East, especially in China.

The LPG tanker BW Elm, owned by the Indian BW LPG firm, loaded cargo at the Ras Laffan terminal in Qatar in the first week of March, transited the strait on March 28, and is expected to arrive at Ennore Port in the Bay of Bengal in eastern India on April 4.

Another tanker by the firm, the BW Tyr, also arrived in India fully loaded.

A BW LPG representative told Anadolu that the firm confirmed both Indian-flagged tankers transited the strait and transported LPG to India.

The crude oil tanker P. Aliki passed through the Strait of Hormuz on March 28 and is believed to have unloaded its cargo in Pakistan.

The tanker has since departed from Pakistan’s Karachi Port, and it is expected to arrive at the UAE’s Fujairah Port on April 4.

On Thursday, the first LNG tanker was observed transiting the strait since the war broke out on Feb. 28.

After the near-complete halt in vessel traffic through the strait and attacks on the LNG plants in the region, the last LNG vessel transited the strait on Feb. 28.

The Panama-flagged SOHAR LNG tanker, departing half-loaded from the Fateh oil field on the UAE’s Gulf of Basra Coast, is transiting the strait en route to the Gulf of Man’s Kalhat terminal.

Additionally, Marshall Islands-flagged oil tankers Dhalkut departed from the UAE’s Jebel Ali Port and Zirku Oil Terminal, estimated to be carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil each while broadcasting an Oman-bound destination on their system.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim in Istanbul