Shipping traffic in key Gulf waterways steady amid uncertain peace talks

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

Twenty vessels — 12 tankers and eight bulk carriers — passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Monday, Kpler shipping data showed, 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 U.S.-Iran talks appeared to be uncertain. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday that no negotiations with the U.S. were taking place and no meetings were scheduled.

This came after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was holding off on new attacks on Iran pending ongoing talks to end their war and to settle claims over the control of the Strait of Hormuz.

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 Houthi movement to target Saudi shipping.

-Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman/Reuters