The number of commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz every day in both directions decreased to 5 ships on May 15, one day earlier, 11 ships crossed this strait. On the morning of May 16, traffic showed signs of slight increase when 6 ships were recorded moving through the strait.
The number of ships entering and leaving the Persian Gulf is still much lower than before the Iranian conflict broke out.
Iran has placed recognizing its sovereignty over the strait as one of the 5 prerequisites for returning to negotiations to end the conflict.
The oil tanker Karolos Suezmax appeared in the Gulf of Oman on May 14 when the ship left the Strait of Hormuz heading to India. The draft shows that the ship is carrying oil.
A week earlier, the Karolos ship was detected near Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), moving in the opposite direction.
According to the ship tracking company Kpler, the Karolos ship was carrying Iraqi crude oil being loaded at Basra port on May 10-11. A satellite image from the European Union's Sentinel-2 system shows a ship with colors and sizes similar to the Karolos anchored at an oil buoy in Basra on the morning of May 11.
In other developments, the oil tanker Agios Fanourios I is still in the Gulf of Oman. Meanwhile, the super-large crude oil tanker (VLCC) Kiara M has also left the Persian Gulf after receiving cargo in Basra, seemingly completing the transfer of oil to another ship off Oman.
The ships leaving the Persian Gulf observed on May 15 included a bulk ship and 2 ships linked to Iran - 1 fuel ship and 1 container ship - along with a ship carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) linked to China that was mentioned earlier.
In a post on social network X, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on May 15 that the US military has now diverted 75 merchant ships since imposing a separate blockade on Iran.
