More than 8 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday with U.S. military aid as fighting resumes with Iran, the U.S. Department of Energy told CNBC in a statement.
“The U.S. military will ensure that oil continues to flow to keep markets well supplied, with or without Iran,” a Department of Energy spokesperson said Monday. The spokesperson said total outflows from the Middle East and Gulf region averaged 15 million barrels per day.
Ship tracking companies recorded a significant drop in traffic passing through Hormuz last week after Iranian attacks on commercial vessels sparked fresh fighting between the US government and Tehran.
On Sunday, 14 ships passed through Hormuz, four of them crude oil tankers, according to data from trade information firm Kupler, a decrease of about 60% compared to the 37 ships that passed through Hormuz on the same day last week.
More than 100 ships were passing through Hormuz every day until the United States and Israel began their war with Iran on February 28. Before the war, approximately 20 million barrels of oil products were exported per day through Hormuz.
President Donald Trump said Monday that he intends to reimpose the U.S. naval blockade of Iran, limited to Iranian shipping. President Trump also required other ships passing through to pay 20% of the value of their cargo to the United States as protection reimbursement.
U.S. Central Command said over the weekend that Hormuz remained open and traffic was flowing through the strait. Some ships transit through the Southern Passage with their transponders turned off, making it difficult to know exactly how many vessels are using the corridor.
The security situation in Hormuz has deteriorated rapidly over the past week. Iran has repeatedly attacked commercial ships passing through the U.S.-protected sea lanes hugging the coast of Oman. The Iranian government requires all ships to use the Northern Passage through its territorial waters.
The United States launched repeated attacks on Iran in retaliation for the ship attacks. Tehran fired back at US allies in the Gulf.
Kupler said more ships were using Iranian shipping lanes after the ship attacks. Analysts at maritime intelligence firm Windward said in a social media post that traffic in the U.S. military-protected southern corridor “virtually collapsed” on Saturday.
Kupler also pointed out that traffic through the Oman route was almost gone over the weekend. More than 9.2 million barrels of Iranian crude oil have passed through Hormuz since President Trump declared the end of the ceasefire with Tehran on July 8, said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler.
—CNBC’s Pippa Stevens contributed to this report.
