New Delhi, Sept. 17 (SANA)Commodity vessel traffic through theStrait of Hormuzdwindled to just three ships on Wednesday, down from 12 a day earlier and well below the 10-day average of about 17, preliminary ship-tracking data showed.

The figures exclude vessels that may have passed through the waterway with their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders switched off to avoid detection, Reuters reported.

Of the three vessels, an empty Supramax dry bulk ship entered the strait via the Iranian route, while an empty petroleum product tanker entered through what shipping data provider Kpler classified as a “dark route.”

A Panamax tanker exited the waterway using a dark route, the data showed.

The sharp decline comes as disruption spreads beyond Hormuz to alternative energy export infrastructure in the region.

Before the Iran war, the Strait of Hormuz handled about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, underscoring its importance toglobal energy markets.

Traffic through the waterway has fallen sharply from pre-war levels as the conflict has disrupted commercial shipping.

Damage to Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline has meanwhile affected one of the Kingdom’s main routes for exporting crude without passing through Hormuz.

Standard Chartered analysts said the damage had materially increased near-term risks to Saudi crude exports, according to Oilprice.com, with the bypass route to the Red Sea port of Yanbu expected to remain largely out of service for several weeks.

Traders cited by Reuters said a prolonged closure of the East-West pipeline could cut off as much as 4% of global oil supply. Saudi Arabia has not said when operations might resume.

The disruption has also raised the prospect of higher freight, insurance and rerouting costs as security risks increase around the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb.

Oil prices remained above $100 a barrel on Thursday as traders weighed continuing supply risks against additional Saudi crude cargoes being offered through Oman.

Brent crude futures fell $1.24, or 1.2%, to $104.59 a barrel by 0049 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude declined $1.14, or 1.1%, to $101.29, Reuters reported.

Saudi Arabiahas offered additional crude loadings to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman’s Sohar port, helping ease some concerns over Middle East supply disruptions.

U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said Wednesday he hoped the conflict with Iran was approaching an end.

“Well, hopefully we are towards the end of the war,” Trump told reporters, adding that Iran wanted to reach an agreement.

DP World said it expects the Strait of Hormuz eventually to reopen but is relying on alternative routes and its global logistics network to keep cargo moving during the disruption.

“The Strait will reopen,” Abdulla Al Hashemi, DP World’s global head of Economic Zones, was quoted by the Khaleej Times daily as saying at the Arab Media Summit in Dubai. “When, I don’t know. In what shape or format, I don’t know.”

Al Hashemi said DP World has moved more than 500,000 containers of cargo overland from the UAE’s east coast to itsGulf coastso far this year as the company works to mitigate the impact of disruption around Hormuz.

The company is also developing two new terminals in Fujairah on the UAE’s east coast, which it says will give cargo owners greater flexibility.

Shipping traffic through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea also eased, with 21 vessels crossing on Wednesday, compared with 24 a day earlier, vessel-tracking data showed.