Merchant fleet trapped west of Hormuz drops below 700 vessels

AXSMarine AIS-derived data currently detects 689 merchant vessels west of the Strait of Hormuz, inside the Persian / Arabian Gulf, down from 1,061 vessels in early March.

This is the first time since the start of the conflict that the tracked fleet inside the Gulf has fallen below 700 vessels, representing a decline of 372 vessels, or around 35%, from the early March count.

Tankers remain the largest exposed segment, with 332 vessels currently detected in the region. This includes 91 oil products tankers, 80 chemical/products tankers, 79 crude oil tankers, 62 other tanker types and 20 chemical tankers.

Crude oil tankers stand out for having the highest ballast share among the main tanker categories, with 59 of the 79 crude tankers currently in ballast.
Dry bulk and MPP vessels form the second-largest group, with 201 vessels in total, including 114 bulk carriers and 87 MPP vessels.

AXSMarine also detects 49 gas carriers, of which 37 are laden and 12 are in ballast. Worth noting here are the 22 LNG carriers in the region, almost all of which are currently laden, alongside 27 LPG carriers split 17 laden and 10 in ballast. 70 Container Ships and 37 other vessel types, such as RoRo and Passenger Ships, round out the picture.

Overall, this indicates that about 35% of the fleet trapped at the start of the conflict is no longer detected in the zone. That said, the trend may not hold, as following renewed strikes on both sides, the fleet's next move will likely track the diplomatic one.