Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz edged higher in the week ended August 23, but cargo-bearing movements fell sharply, with cargo-carrying transits declining 27%, signalling that the headline recovery in shipping has yet to translate into a meaningful improvement in commercial flows through the key energy chokepoint. Confirmed Hormuz crossings increased 2.5% week-on-week to 121, even as the composition of traffic deteriorated. The number of sanctioned vessel crossings rose sharply to 16 from nine, while vessels using Iran’s unilateral routing scheme accounted for 46.3% of all crossings, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler.