Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz again, with a sharp drop in vessel passages on Sunday

(1) After Iran announced another closure of the Strait of Hormuz, vessel traffic through the strait dropped sharply on Sunday. (2) According to data from analytics company Kpler, only 5 ships passed through on Sunday, compared to 26 observed on the previous day (Saturday). (3) Among these 5 ships were 3 Very Large Crude Carriers, each carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi crude oil and fuel oil, with one vessel heading to Japan. (4) However, this data may not include ships that deliberately turned off their transponders during the voyage.