Hormuz: VLCC inbound transits continue despite overall traffic slowdown<\/p>\n
A quick follow-up to yesterday\u2019s note with additional confirmed vessel movements for 15 April.<\/p>\n
We recorded 8 confirmed crossings across dry bulk, tanker and gas segments, in line with the post-blockade slowdown highlighted previously. Activity remains below the 8\u201312 April peak window, but continues at a reduced pace rather than halting entirely.<\/p>\n
The most notable development is the continued presence of large crude movements into the Gulf. Three VLCCs (280,000\u2013300,000 dwt) were confirmed inbound on 15 April:<\/p>\n
HONG LU (298,920 dwt, Hong Kong-owned)<\/p>\n
ALICIA (281,396 dwt, China-owned)<\/p>\n
AGIOS FANOURIOS I (299,996 dwt, Greek-owned), bound for Basrah<\/p>\n
This represents roughly 880,000 dwt of crude-carrying capacity entering the Gulf in a single day. No VLCC outbound crossings have been observed since 12 April.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, we see further signs of operational and commercial uncertainty:<\/p>\n
Three bulk carriers (Turkish-, Chinese- and Greek-owned) reappeared on AIS after ~15 days in signal blackout. While likely transits, their exact crossing timing cannot be confirmed and they are excluded from our daily count.<\/p>\n
The chemical\/products tanker RICH STARRY reversed direction within 24 hours, crossing outbound on 14 April and reappearing inbound on 15 April, with no observable window for cargo operations.<\/p>\n
hellenicshippingnews…<\/p>\n