Vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz fell to seven on Thursday from 11 the previous day, preliminary shiptracking data released Friday showed, compared with a 10-day average of 15. Kpler data recorded two Panamax ships exiting by 0306 GMT: one carrying fertiliser and one sailing in ballast. Five vessels entered, including ships carrying dry bulk cargo, steel, grains and dirty petroleum products. The data exclude vessels that may have switched off their Automatic Identification System, or AIS (a vessel-tracking transponder system), to avoid detection. Before the Iran war began on February 28, the strait typically handled about 125 large commercial vessels daily and accounted for roughly 20% of the world's daily crude oil and liquefied natural gas supply. A U.S. blockade of Iran-related shipping has halted Iranian crude oil exports since being reimposed in mid-July. In the Red Sea, Iran-aligned Houthis seized Yemen's port city of Mocha on Thursday and advanced along the coast toward strategic islands, military sources said. Twenty-six commodity vessels transited the Bab el-Mandeb on Thursday, below the approximately 27-vessel average for the previous 10 days.