Oil Tanker Traffic Through Hormuz Raises Questions Over Bab el-Mandeb Flows

The latest data from maritime and energy tracking platform Kpler showed 36 crude oil tankers carrying more than 360 million barrels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The figures offer a snapshot of tanker movements through the strait, but the supplied summary does not specify the period covered. Without that timeframe or a comparison with earlier traffic, they do not establish whether crossings have increased or declined.

The reported cargo total also requires clarification. More than 360 million barrels across 36 tankers would imply an average load exceeding 10 million barrels per vessel, an unusually large figure for an individual crude carrier.

No corresponding figures were provided for Bab el-Mandeb. The available information therefore does not establish how traffic through the two straits compares, or whether any of the tankers counted at Hormuz also passed through Bab el-Mandeb.