On August 17, according to TASS news agency, oil exporting countries in the Middle East are secretly transporting fossil fuels through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important energy shipping routes.
According to sources, oil tankers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Kuwait have passed through this strait for months with automatic identification signal transmitters turned off. This makes it difficult to track the operation of the ships and makes it difficult to accurately determine the amount of oil being transported.
Sources believe that the actual amount of oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz may be higher than the market estimate of 4 million barrels/day.
Maintaining secret transportation trips is considered one of the factors helping to limit the upward momentum of energy prices, in the context of the Middle East conflict disrupting transportation and increasing concerns about global oil supply.
However, secret transportation through the Strait of Hormuz also comes with the risk of ships being attacked.
Since the conflict began, 23 ships of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation (ADNOC) have been attacked, killing 1 person and injuring 20 others. This information was released in the context of recent attacks on commercial ships that have sharply reduced maritime activities across the Strait of Hormuz.
The source said that in addition to secret transportation through the Strait of Hormuz, the increase in oil transportation by pipelines and the use of national oil reserves by many countries is also helping to reduce the economic impact from the Middle East conflict.
In early August, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that about 8-9 million barrels of oil/day are being transported through the Strait of Hormuz.
Independent tracking data also shows that maritime activity through Hormuz has decreased sharply. According to Kpler data, only 5 cargo ships passed through this strait on August 15 and no ships were recorded on August 16, while last weekend there were 31 ships. Before the conflict between the US and Iran began, more than 130 ships per day passed through this maritime route.
The Strait of Hormuz is an important energy transportation route, connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arab Sea. Developments here continue to be closely monitored by the energy market due to the possibility of affecting global oil supply and prices.
