Middle Eastern crude oil exports exceeded prewar levels on four of the seven days during the final week of September despite attacks on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, shipping data showed on Monday.
Preliminary data from vessel-tracking firm Kpler showed that regional crude exports exceeded prewar levels on September 24 and from September 27 to 29, ranging between 19.5 million and 22.5 million barrels per day.
Average exports stood at 18 million barrels per day between March 2025 and February this year, before the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran.
The data showed that the seven-day average for crude exports reached 18.5 million barrels per day on October 1. The figures include shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, exports from ports, and ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman.
Kpler data also showed that total shipments of crude oil, petroleum products, chemicals and non-gas liquids averaged 22.4 million barrels per day during the seven days ending September 30.
The number of liquefied natural gas cargoes passing out of the Strait of Hormuz also rose in September to its highest monthly level since February.
The figures exclude vessels that may have transited the strait with their automatic identification system transponders switched off to avoid detection.
Before the war with Iran began on February 28, the strait typically handled around 125 large commercial vessels a day, including oil and gas tankers, bulk carriers and container ships. The route accounts for around 20% of the world’s daily crude oil and LNG supplies.
Attacks on Vessels
Maritime intelligence firm Marisks said in a report on Saturday that attacks on tankers had continued in and around the Strait of Hormuz, with at least seven incidents reported.
The company said the VLCC Kazma 3 appeared to have been struck by an unidentified projectile on October 1 while operating in the strait, triggering a fire on board.
“All crew members were reported to be safe and were later evacuated from the vessel,” Marisks said.
Kpler data showed that the last recorded sighting of the Kazma 3 was while it was unloading two million barrels of Kuwaiti crude at the Ras Markaz terminal on Oman’s coast on September 17. Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, the vessel’s owner, did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside working hours.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency reported at least one attack per day in the Strait of Hormuz or the Gulf of Aden since October 2.
Marisks said commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz face an “increasingly volatile and unpredictable kinetic threat” amid the sharp recent rise in maritime traffic.
“Current information suggests that the recent pattern of incidents may not necessarily represent deliberate targeting of individually selected commercial vessels,” the company said.
Instead, it said available information indicated that Iranian forces could be firing missiles into a predetermined engagement area, or “kill box,” where weapons may acquire and lock onto available radar signals.
Marisks added that simply being present inside the engagement area at the relevant time could itself represent the main source of danger.
Source: Reuters
