25 vessels pass through Bab el-Mandeb strait but only two in Hormuz

Twenty-five commodities vessels passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Thursday, while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained low with only two tankers transiting, according to Kpler shipping data.

Of the 25 vessels that transited the Bab el-Mandeb strait, 18 entered the waterway and seven exited. The traffic included several oil tankers, among them two very large crude carriers (VLCC), one Suezmax tanker and five Aframax tankers.

Meanwhile, only two vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz, both in ballast and entering the waterway.

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

While Iran and its Houthi allies have targeted tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, a drone strike on gas vessels in Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta signalled a potential new front in the U.S.-Iran war, raising the prospect of threats to navigation through the Suez Canal.

Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Michael Perry/Reuters