Bridget Diakun

Nearly 20 shadow fleet tankers have stopped just outside the US blockade line or are diverting on the approach, appearing to be waiting and weighing up their options

The mass exodus from Panama’s registry has been visible since mid-April, about a month after China began stepping up inspections of Panama-flagged ships

Operation Irini’s boarding of two suspected fraudulently flagged tankers is the first evidence of coordinated efforts at an EU-level to disrupt Moscow’s shadow fleet

Inbound tanker transits through Hormuz more than doubled in the week after the ceasefire VLCCs are leading the charge, with fixtures reported at WS500-550 inside the Middle East Gulf

The exodus, unseen in nearly two decades, is still gathering pace even as China halves detentions of Panama-flagged ships, while Washington’s threat of a probe risks broader US-China shipping tensions

Traffic transiting the Strait of Hormuz has slowed, but not stopped as the US and Iran trade attacks over the weekend

Saudi Red Sea tanker traffic has all but vanished from public view, with no traceable crude tanker calls since July 23 and operators increasingly resorting to dark port calls and untracked transits through Bab el Mandeb

Transits through the chokepoint fell to just 34 last week Traffic through the Hormuz is back to levels seen during the early stages of the conflict as hostilities in the region continues to escalate

The proposed Saudi-led alliance would cover the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden, although key details remain under discussion

Yanbu tanker calls have dropped by more than a third since the Houthi blockade was announced on July 20, according to Lloyd's List Intelligence data