Shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz slowed sharply over the weekend following attacks on tankers and a lack of progress in efforts to resolve the conflict between the United States and Iran.

Ship-tracking data from Kpler showed that five commodity vessels transited the strategic waterway on Saturday, while none were registered for Sunday. This compared with 31 vessel transits during the previous weekend.

The vessels entering the strait on Saturday included an empty vessel, although the available source material does not provide its name or further details about the other ships involved.

The decline followed reports on Friday that traffic through Hormuz had reached near-standstill conditions after two additional ships were attacked. The source material does not identify the vessels, specify the extent of any damage or provide details about casualties.

The disruption has coincided with stalled diplomatic contacts. Reports indicated that US-Iran talks intended to resolve the Middle East conflict had made no progress. A senior Iranian source had also said there had been no advance in discussions aimed at building on a June agreement to end the war.

Iran stated that control over whether the strait remained open rested with Tehran. The United States, meanwhile, indicated that it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely, according to the supplied reports.

The Strait of Hormuz is described in the source material as a strategic maritime route. The latest data indicate a pronounced reduction in commodity vessel movements compared with the preceding weekend, amid continuing attacks and political uncertainty.

No information was provided on when normal traffic levels might resume, whether additional vessels were waiting to transit, or how shipping companies were adjusting their operations. The source material also does not include freight-rate, insurance-cost or commodity-flow estimates linked to the slowdown.