SINGAPORE, July 16 (Reuters) - Fewer vessels travelled through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the first day after the U.S. reimposed its naval blockade on Iranian ports with both countries escalating strikes across the Gulf, shipping data showed.

Nine vessels crossed the strait on Wednesday, mostly on the Iranian route, down from 13 the previous day, Kpler data showed.

There were no Very Large Crude Carrier or liquefied natural gas tankers visibly passing through the strait on Wednesday.

U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday it disabled an unladen oil tanker that was attempting to sail towards Iran's Kharg Island after it ignored multiple warnings, firing Hellfire missiles into the ship's smokestack. The Curacao-flagged VLCC Belma was no longer transiting to Iran, it added.

Since resuming a naval blockade against Iran on Tuesday, the U.S. has redirected two ships and disabled another, the military said.

Hostilities have intensified since Iran said late on Saturday it had closed the Strait of Hormuz. Military operations are keeping ships from travelling through the waterway, which carried about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before the war.

On Wednesday, five empty vessels entered the Gulf, including three small oil tankers and two dry bulk carriers for grains, the data showed. The four vessels that exited the strait on Wednesday carried liquefied petroleum gas, coal, fuel oil and fertilizer.

On Tuesday, a Suezmax tanker carrying 1 million barrels of Saudi crude exited the strait with its transponder switched off, Kpler data showed.

(Reporting by Florence Tan. Editing by Kate Mayberry and Mark Potter)

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