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Ahmad al-Sharaa  ·  2026-09-08 00:00

Shipping traffic slows in Hormuz, rises in Bab al-Mandab amid Middle East tensions

Washington, Sept 08 (SANA)Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed this week amid Iranian threats to target energy infrastructure in the region, while traffic through theBab al-Mandab Straitincreased.Reuters, citing data from Kpler, reported Tuesday that the number of cargo vessels passing throughthe Strait of Hormuzfell to seven on Monday, compared with eight vessels the previous day.In a related development,Goldman Sachsraised its forecasts forBrent crudeand West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices for December 2026 and for 2027, expecting shipping disruptions in the Middle East to continue into next year.Meanwhile, shipping traffic through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, another major waterway for cargo vessels, increased.Kpler data showed that 29 cargo vessels passed through the Bab al-Mandab Strait on Monday, up from 17 vessels on Sunday.Before the outbreak ofthe U.S.-Israeli-Iranian waron Feb. 28, about 125 large commercial vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz daily, including oil and liquefied natural gas tankers, container ships and bulk carriers.The strait handled the equivalent of one-fifth of the world’s daily supplies of crude oil and liquefied natural gas.Iran warned Monday that energy infrastructure, particularly oil and gas facilities acrossthe Gulf region, is at risk.