As the Persian Gulf truce was hanging in the balance because of Israel’s ongoing bombardment of southern Lebanon, Marine Traffic reported that only three vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz in an easterly direction by 3pm, South African Standard Time, on April 8.
According to BBC Verify, the vessels stayed close to the Iranian shore, most likely to signal their non-hostile status towards Iran.
All three were bulk carriers, the specialist unit said – the NJ Earth, Daytona Beach and Hai Long 1.
Bloomberg’s vessel transit assessment of the supply chain pain point recorded more traffic for the same period, reporting seven vessels exiting Hormuz towards the Persian Gulf, while three ships entered the Persian Gulf where about 800 commercials remain stranded by the strife.
On Thursday morning Israel maintained that its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon was not part of the Washington-signed ceasefire between itself, Iran and the United States.
Since then, more than 100 Hezbollah targets have been hit across Israel’s northern border, killing at least 254 and injuring more than 1 100 people in Lebanon, The Times of India reports.
The daily reports state that Iran halted Hormuz tanker passage in response, demanding that Lebanon be included, while Israel said that the truce excluded Lebanon. Missile alerts persisted across the region, underscoring the fragility of the ceasefire.
