As shipping traffic through the besieged Strait of Hormuz fell to its lowest level since July this week, reports have emerged that sailors are being paid large bonuses for making the dangerous trip through the Gulf waterway. Some captains are earning base salaries of as much as $100,000 – the high end of usual salaries which vary greatly between shipping companies – plus a $50,000 bonus per voyage through the strait, the UK’s Financial Times has reported. Oil exports from the Middle East rose above pre-war levels at the end of last month despite ongoing attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
But shipping data from Kpler shows that about 40 percent of those are leaving the region due to a combination of pipeline exports and small shuttle boats carrying out risky ship-to-ship transfers. According to shipping data from Kpler, at least 16.5 million barrels left the region last month, matching the pre-war average, excluding Iran, which is under a naval blockade by the United States. However, about 40 percent of this is being exported via Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline or via ship-to-ship transfers by smaller boats travelling undetected through the strait.
Kpler reported on Tuesday that the number of detectable vessels passing through the strait had fallen to its lowest level in more than two months, with only seven vessels passing through the crucial waterway in the previous week, the lowest figure since July 23. Data is hard to determine, as many smaller shuttle boats are turning off their transponders to avoid detection when travelling through the strait before offloading oil to larger tankers waiting beyond it. Attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz have continued in the past week.
On Wednesday night, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported several casualties after multiple projectiles struck a vessel sailing off Qatar’s northern coast. Following the start of the US-Israel war on Iran in late February, Tehran all but closed the strait, with limited vessels receiving clearance. Iran has launched strikes at ships making the crossing without its express permission.
The US, for its part, imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports due to Tehran’s closure and has escorted some vessels through the waterway. Last week, attacks on tankers in the strait hit their highest level since the war began as regional oil producers tried to increase exports at heightened risk for crew and cargo. Saul Kavonic, energy head at MST Marquee, told the news agency: “The frequency of Iranian attacks on ships is now at the highest point since the war began, and likely to intensify further.” He added that “constrained product flows, extreme logistics costs and high likelihood of Iranian escalation are keeping [oil] prices elevated”.
Oil prices rose on Thursday morning, with Brent crude futures increasing by $2.28, or 2.28 percent, to $102.28 a barrel by . US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained $1.66, or 1.88 percent, to $89.94. This is despite oil exports recovering to some extent due to Saudi Arabia using alternative export infrastructure and due to the complex system of ship-to-ship transfers.
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