Shipping traffic at key Gulf waterways has changed little amid uncertainty over US-Iran talks

Shipping traffic at the key Gulf waterways of Bab el-Mandeb and Strait of Hormuz is largely unchanged at the start of the week, shipping data shows, as the progress of talks between the United States and Iran remains ambiguous.

Twenty vessels — 12 tankers and eight bulk carriers — passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Monday, Kpler shipping data shows, steady from the previous day.

Of these 20 crossings, there were a total of 12 exits and eight entries, mostly with their transponders on.

Any progress in US-Iran talks appeared to be uncertain. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday that no negotiations with the US were taking place and no meetings were scheduled.

This came after US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was holding off on new attacks on Iran pending ongoing talks to end the war and to settle claims over the control of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has obstructed since the beginning of the war in late February.

Traffic remained largely slow at Hormuz, with six vessels —three tankers and three bulk carriers — transiting the strait on Monday, down from seven on the previous day, according to Kpler data.

These six vessels included five entries and one exit, all via the Iranian shipping route.

Some vessels may still be sailing with their transponders turned off, which are not considered in the counts.

The risk of vessel attacks kept shipping sentiment cautious at the key waterways, prompting some Saudi-flagged supertankers to change course in the Gulf of Aden and divert to southern Africa amid threats by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi terror group to target Saudi shipping.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.