Strait of Hormuz shipping nearly halts as Saudi oil exports rise

Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell sharply over the weekend, with only a dozen commodity freighters passing through compared to 35 the previous weekend, according to shipping data on Monday. The route, vital for a fifth of global oil and gas supplies, is now severely restricted. Middle Eastern producers continue exporting oil on tankers with transponders switched off, while before the war between the US, Israel, and Iran began on February 28, about 125 large commercial ships passed through the strait daily. Saudi Arabia has increased its exports through the strait following Houthi attacks on Saudi Aramco's east-west pipeline. The leading OPEC member raised its September exports to over four million barrels per day, up from 2.4 million bpd in August, despite the overall traffic decline.