Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz plummeted by more than 90 percent in March.

　　Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 24 - Since the outbreak of the US-Israel-Iran conflict, global energy transportation's "lifeline," the Strait of Hormuz, has been severely obstructed. Market service agency data shows that since March, the number of merchant ships passing through this strait has decreased by 95% compared to before the conflict.

　　AFP reported on the 23rd, citing data from market service agency Kepler, that from March 1 to 16:00 GMT on March 23, the number of merchant ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz was only 144 times, a decrease of 95% compared to before the conflict on February 28. Among them, 91 passages were made by ships transporting oil and natural gas, most of which sailed eastward out of the strait. Data from the multinational agency "Combined Maritime Forces," led by the US Navy, shows that before the conflict, about 138 ships passed through the strait daily.

　　AFP said that the ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz on the 23rd seemed to have used a northern route. It is said that this route is located north of Iran's Larak Island and is approved by the Iranian government.

　　The UK's Lloyd's List reported on the 23rd that "shipping in the Strait of Hormuz continues to be severely disrupted," and more than 20 ships were tracked using this route on that day. The newspaper previously stated that this route is similar to the "safe corridor" delineated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Revolutionary Guard uses Larak Island to visually confirm ships passing through the strait.

　　Data from the international freight information platform MarineTraffic website shows that under limited supply conditions, since March 3, about 11 liquefied natural gas carriers originally bound for Europe have rerouted to closer destinations in Asia, where spot prices are higher.

　　Analysts at JPMorgan stated that among the observable oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian oil accounts for as much as 98%, with a daily average transportation volume of 1.3 million barrels in early March.

　　The Strait of Hormuz is a crucial maritime route for global oil transportation. As the only passage from the Persian Gulf to the outside world, more than a quarter of the global seaborne oil trade and about one-fifth of the global liquefied natural gas transportation volume are shipped through this strait to various parts of the world. The US Energy Information Administration estimates that in 2024, the daily average amount of oil transported through the strait will be about 20 million barrels. (Liu Xi)