/Agencia Reuters
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright stated that ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is increasing “very significantly” as the conflict with Iran continues.
“I would say it is increasing very significantly,” Wright said when asked how ship traffic is flowing through the waterway compared to one or two weeks ago.
Wright made these statements during an Atlantic Council conference and added that it would take many months to return to normal energy flows once the war ends.
Ship movement in the strait has been largely blocked since the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran in late February, disrupting about 20% of global supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas.
However, since then, some vessels have begun to transit the narrow sea lane bordering Iran, often with their transponders turned off and under cover of darkness.
The disruptions to normal flows have caused a rise in global energy prices, destabilizing economies worldwide and creating political vulnerability for U.S. President Donald Trump and his Republican party ahead of the midterm legislative elections in November.
Washington has been pushing for a peace agreement with Tehran that includes the full reopening of the strait.
Some 988 commercial vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz from the start of the war until June 7, of which 84 were container ships, according to data from the analysis firm Kpler. The daily transit of ships through the strait stood at 10 on the hundredth day of the war.
