Hormuz Traffic Slows as Uncertainty Over Waterway Persists

FILE - Cargo ships are seen at sea in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, from a rocky shoreline near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File)

Asharq Al Awsat

08:07-19 August 2026 AD ـ 06 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

08:07-19 August 2026 AD ـ 06 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Hormuz Traffic Slows as Uncertainty Over Waterway Persists

FILE - Cargo ships are seen at sea in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, from a rocky shoreline near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File)

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed, data showed on Wednesday, as most shipowners avoided the key waterway because of a lack of clear signaling on its reopening from a blockade during the Iran war.

Six commodity vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, Kpler data showed by 0258 GMT, down from nine a day earlier and below the 10-day daily average of 11.

Inbound traffic included an empty very large crude ⁠carrier that followed the ⁠Omani side of the strait, as well as two tankers, one of medium-range and the other intermediate, the data showed, according to Reuters.

Two medium-range fuel tankers and a post-Panamax vessel exited the strait.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said no talks ⁠were taking place with Iran and insisted the Strait of Hormuz was open, contradicting Iran's assertion that it remained shut to shipping.

The waterway handled a fifth of the world's shipments of crude oil and liquefied natural gas before the war.

As security concerns curb oil shipments to the world's largest importer, two Chinese shipping giants that used to carry half its imports of Middle Eastern oil ⁠before ⁠the war have kept their tankers out of the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb since late July, say tanker tracker Vortexa and a ship broker.

At the Bab el-Mandeb strait on the Red Sea, Kpler data showed 30 weekend transits by commodity vessels, up from 19 in the prior week.

Localized Ceasefire in Effect to Enable Repairs to Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant, IAEA Says

A view shows Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant from the bank of Kakhovka Reservoir near the town of Nikopol after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine June 16, 2023. (Reuters)

08:47-5 September 2026 AD ـ 23 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Localized Ceasefire in Effect to Enable Repairs to Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant, IAEA Says

A ‌local ceasefire brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has taken effect to enable repairs for the restoration of external power to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power ‌plant, the agency ‌said on ‌Saturday.

The ⁠Russian-controlled nuclear power ⁠plant, located in Ukraine, has been without external power since August 20 and has relied on ⁠emergency diesel generators ‌to ‌cool its vital safety systems.

The ‌plant is running ‌low on diesel fuel reserves and faces a possible station blackout ‌within days unless power is restored or more ⁠diesel ⁠is transported to the site, the UN atomic watchdog said, adding that Ukrainian technicians will begin power line repairs later on Saturday after demining the area.

World

Iranian Media Report Explosions in Kharg Island Area of Gulf

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, September 5, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

08:37-5 September 2026 AD ـ 23 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Iranian Media Report Explosions in Kharg Island Area of Gulf

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, September 5, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iranian media on Saturday reported several explosions near the country's major oil hub of Kharg Island in the Gulf, days after renewed fighting broke out with the United States.

Fars news agency said blasts were heard by its correspondent but that there was no smoke visible, while the SNN news agency claimed "an Iranian tanker was targeted by the US" near the island.

There was no immediate comment from US or Iranian officials.

Fighting between the foes resumed last Sunday with US attacks on Iran as their war passed its six-month mark.

The American strikes prompted retaliatory attacks by Tehran on US targets in the Middle East.

Iran said Thursday that its armed forces had hit Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, vowing to avenge civilian deaths at a wedding that it blamed on Washington.

The two sides also remain vying for control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, with Iran blocking the passage of ships as Washington maintains a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

World

Rescuers Continue Grim Search for Nepal Flood Survivors

A man using an excavator clears sludge along the Trishuli river in the aftermath of flash floods at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal's Nuwakot district on September 5, 2026. (AFP)

07:10-5 September 2026 AD ـ 23 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Rescuers Continue Grim Search for Nepal Flood Survivors

A man using an excavator clears sludge along the Trishuli river in the aftermath of flash floods at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal's Nuwakot district on September 5, 2026. (AFP)

Inspired by the "miracle" rescue of two hydropower workers, Nepal's emergency response teams were digging with new vigor Saturday through piles of debris as the death toll from the flooding disaster crossed 1,200.

The rescued pair were among hundreds of hydropower workers who went missing since a tsunami-like wall of water and mud swept through the China-Nepal border following a vast glacial and rock collapse on August 26.

So far, 1,294 bodies have been recovered in Nepal, according to the disaster agency, with 5,053 people missing.

In China, state media said 31 people had been killed and 531 were missing. That takes the overall death toll to 1,325 people, with 5,584 missing.

"We have been working since morning on search and rescue operations," Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told AFP on Saturday.

Searches continued at the Trishuli 3A tunnel where the two men were rescued on Friday, as well as multiple other sites, with at least 12 hydropower projects destroyed by the floods.

- 'The work goes on' -

"Work is also underway at the tunnels," Basnet said. "We don't have an update yet, but the work goes on."

The government initially said it believed more than 100 workers could be alive inside multiple tunnels.

Rescuers called it a "miracle" after the two men, caked in mud, were pulled out alive after being trapped for nine days.

They were taken to hospital and are said to be in a stable condition.

Experts from India, China, Australia and South Korea have been aiding Nepali rescuers in their search of survivors inside blocked tunnels.

With morgues overflowing, some 1,030 bodies hade been buried in mass graves after taking DNA samples for future identification by family members, Nepal Police said Saturday.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah promised to provide "safe and comfortable accommodation" for thousands of people displaced by the disaster and currently living in temporary relief camps.

"We know that staying there (camps) is not easy for you," he said in an emotional post on social media late Friday.

"(But) we will once again create an environment where you can dream about and build your future."

Hormuz Traffic Slows as Uncertainty Over Waterway Persists

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