Hormuz Commodity Transits Plunge to Nine Vessels, Driving VLCC Freight to Record Peak

Strait of Hormuz shipping traffic fell to nine commodity vessels on Thursday against a 10-day average of 18, driving Persian Gulf to China VLCC spot freight rates to a record $1.27 million per day. Heightened security risks, commercial tanker attacks, and Houthi threats have triggered acute vessel avoidance. Earlier in the week, outbound transits sank to three on Tuesday and just one on Wednesday, pushing Brent crude back above $103 per barrel. Regional operators have strained ship-to-ship transfer capacity and relied on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline to bypass the chokepoint.