Shipping data showed that the number of ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz rose slightly on Tuesday, most of them linked to Iran, ahead of the resumption of the US blockade on Wednesday.

According to Reuters, US President Donald Trump reimposed a naval blockade on all Iranian ports and threatened to target power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran resumes negotiations, in the latest escalation of the conflict between the United States and Iran.

Kepler vessel tracking data showed that 9 out of 11 ships that crossed the strait on Monday took the Iranian route.

According to the data, among these ships, three empty oil tankers entered the strait, one of them medium-sized while the other two were supertankers. The ships that exited the strait loaded with Iranian exports included one supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil, one medium-sized tanker carrying refined products, and two tankers carrying liquefied petroleum gas.

The data also showed that a loaded methanol tanker and a dry cargo ship carrying iron departed the Gulf on Tuesday. No clear entries or exits of tankers for loading oil and gas from other Gulf producers were observed on Tuesday.

Clashes between the United States and Iran escalated this week, leading to a sharp slowdown in shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed daily before the war began in February.

The United States said late Tuesday that Iran attacked 7 commercial ships over the past week, resulting in the death, loss, or injury of more than ten crew members.

Goldman Sachs said in a note on Wednesday, "The next phase of recovery in Gulf oil flows may be slower than the initial phase, even if geopolitical tensions subside."

Analysts noted a sharp decline in flows through Omani and international routes following the latest attacks on tankers, explaining that this indicates that "shipping companies sailing through the non-Iranian corridor in Hormuz are still refraining from taking risks."