Four commodity vessels transited the key waterway of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, down from nine a day earlier and well below the 10-day average tally of about 15, preliminary shipping data showed, according to Reuters.
Two medium-range tankers, a Kamsarmax carrier and a Handysize vessel made up the figure, Kpler data showed by 0455 GMT on Friday.
The figure excludes vessels that might have crossed the strait with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off to avoid detection.
Oil prices were heading on Friday for their steepest weekly gain since mid-July, as rising tension between US and Iran heightened concerns over Middle East supply risks.
So far this week, Kpler data showed only two very large crude carriers crossed the strait.
Before the Iran war started on February 28, about 125 large commercial vessels went through the strait each day, including tankers, gas carriers, bulkers and container vessels, making up a fifth of global daily crude oil and liquefied natural gas supply.
Source: Agencies (edited by Al-Manar)