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Despite Iran’s warnings, ships use the Oman route to transit the Hormuz.
Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz eased from Wednesday’s high but ships were still using a route not allowed by Iran, even though a projectile hit a vessel, tracking systems indicated on Friday.
Kpler’s tracking software showed at least 42 commodity vessels including tankers carrying oil, gas and dry bulk such as fertilisers crossed on Thursday, down from a peak of 57 on Wednesday.
Ten of those ships came into the Gulf, while 32 left. 42 vessels, half of them, took a southern route down the coast of Oman.
By Friday afternoon, another 29 commodity vessels had already passed through the strait, with 10 entering the Gulf and 19 exiting, Kpler said.
Seventeen of those ships used the Omani route even as a Singapore-flagged cargo ship reported being hit while traversing the corridor on Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said.
Marine Traffic, a tracking platform, said some 15 tankers and cargo vessels passed through the strait between 1410 GMT, when the incident occurred, and midnight Thursday.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that Oman and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced the new channel without informing Tehran and cautioned vessels against utilising it.Only the transit routes authorised by the Islamic Republic of Iran are allowed in the Strait of Hormuz, it claimed.
The attack on the cargo ship caused the postponement of an operation to rescue some 11,000 seafarers stranded by the closing of the vital channel, the IMO said.
Since Tuesday, roughly 115 boats and 2,500 seafarers had been evacuated until the operation was suspended, the UN maritime body said Friday.
IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez said he took the decision to stop evacuations after “consultations with some countries, particularly in the region”.
Traffic has been slowly increasing across the strait since 15 June, which generally accounts for about a quarter of the world’s oil and gas exports.
Kpler said in an X post that there were 70 confirmed crossings by all vessels on Wednesday vs about 125 transits in peacetime.
And Brent North Sea crude oil, the international benchmark, dropped more than five percent on Friday on optimism over the reopening of the strait.
Experts, however, warned against saying that the crisis was over as talks on a long-term settlement between Iran and the US continue.Some have taken the sharp increase in shipping across the Strait of Hormuz as a sign that the region is returning to normal. “It’s not,” said Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of maritime publication Lloyd’s List on Friday.What we are seeing is a pent-up demand release from a ceasefire – a ketchup-bottle burst of tonnage. “The Strait of Hormuz may be busier, but it is not any more secure. “Until the terms of any post-ceasefire regime are known – and respected – the idea of a return to normality remains more hope than forecast,” he continued.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened Tuesday’s trading session on a positive note, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index climbing more than 1,300 points.
The index surged to 164,368 points during early trading, reflecting a strong upward movement in the market.
In the previous session, the benchmark index had settled at 163,038 points.
The latest rally marks a positive start to the trading day, with the market gaining momentum after the previous session’s close.
Muneeba Ali will lead Pakistan in ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy 2026 Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday named a 14-member squad for the forthcoming ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy 2026 to be held in Ajman, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 12 to 25.
The squad also includes hitters Eman Naseer, Eyman Fatima, Sadaf Shamas, Saira Jabeen and Shawaal Zulfiqar. Ayesha Zafar has been appointed the vice-captain. The squad also includes Gull Feroza who was declared the best wicketkeeper-batter in the recently ended National Women’s T20 Tournament.
Left-arm spinner Nashra Sundhu will head the bowling assault alongside Momina Riasat, Tuba Hassan and Umm-e-Hani in the spin quartet. The frontline pace options in the squad are Tasmia Rubab and Waheeda Akhtar.
The Pakistan women’s team has earned the Bronze Medal in the Asian Games in Japan. Sadaf and Waheeda have been recalled, while twelve players have retained their spot in the team from Pakistan’s last assignment. Regular skipper Fatima Sana will also be missing from Pakistan’s contingent as she will be in Australia playing her inaugural Women’s Big Bash League season.
The event involves 10 teams in two groups and 30 matches. Pakistan participate in Group B with Bangladesh, Thailand, Netherlands and Zimbabwe. Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Scotland Papua New Guinea and hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE)
After the single-league round-robin round, three clubs from each group will qualify for the Super Six stage, where they will play three matches each. The final will be played on Wednesday November 25 between the top two teams from the Super Six stage.
Pakistan squad will gather in Lahore on November 6 and it will have a pre-tournament training camp on November 7, 8 and 9 before flying to UAE.
14-man squad
Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (c & wk), Ayesha Zafar (vc), Eman Naseer, Eyman Fatima, Gull Feroza (wk), Momina Riasat, Nashra Sundhu, Sadaf Shamas, Saira Jabeen, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Tasmia Rubab, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani, Waheeda Akhtar
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed Tuesday it intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles and drones launched at two areas of the kingdom by the Iran-aligned group, as the battle between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis escalates.
The coalition reported the Houthis launched three ballistic missiles toward the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia and four drones toward the Southern Region of the kingdom.
Saudi Civil Defence warned of a possible hostile threat in the Eastern Region and in the governorate of Kharj, and later said the risk has passed in both places.
Last month, the Houthis captured key strategic areas along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, moving closer to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical global shipping lane for Gulf oil producers across the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz. Since then, Saudi Arabia has stepped up its strikes against the Houthis.
The two sides have resumed fire, shattering a 2022 UN-brokered truce that had largely kept strikes at bay between the Saudi-led coalition, which backs Yemen’s internationally recognised government, and the Houthis who control the capital Sanaa.
The escalation also opens up a new front in the US-Israeli attack on Iran.
PSX opens on a positive note, gains over 1,300 points in early trading
Pakistan squad announced for ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy
Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted Houthi missiles, drones attacking kingdom
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