Non-Iranian crude oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz surged 50% this month, defying threats of blockade.

According to Mars Finance, on June 12th, despite the ongoing tensions between the US and Iran, crude oil shipping activity in the Strait of Hormuz has shown a significant rebound recently. Data from energy data company Vortexa shows that in the first 10 days of June, the average daily shipment of non-Iranian crude oil exported through the Strait of Hormuz reached at least 1.8 million barrels, a 50% increase from approximately 1.2 million barrels in May. Meanwhile, due to US blockade measures, Iranian crude oil shipments have almost come to a standstill, with no Iranian oil passing through the channel during the same period. Xavier Tang, senior market analyst at Vortexa, stated that "blind flights" through the Strait of Hormuz with the Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal turned off have become the new normal. Although the overall shipping volume is still far below the pre-conflict level of approximately 20 million barrels per day, market concerns about the risk of a strait blockade have clearly diminished. When Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz again on Thursday, Brent crude oil futures showed almost no significant fluctuation, a stark contrast to the initial surge in oil prices that occurred when Iran first blocked the strait at the beginning of the conflict, pushing prices up by about 13%. In addition, US President Trump revealed that the US military has been conducting a secret escort mission since last month, assisting approximately 100 million barrels of oil to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz, equivalent to more than 2.4 million barrels per day. US Central Command also stated that it intercepted two ships this week in the Gulf of Oman attempting to circumvent the blockade measures implemented since mid-April, one of which experienced a fire in its engine room on Thursday. The market is currently closely watching whether oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz can maintain current levels, given Iran's latest threat to close the strait. As of press time, US crude oil was trading at $87.38, up 0.25% on the day; Brent crude was trading at $88.58, up 0.05% on the day.