Ships in Persian Gulf quietly coordinate with U.S. Navy to exit Hormuz
Nearly 40 ships previously stranded in the Persian Gulf have emerged from the Strait of Hormuz in the past three weeks in quiet coordination with the U.S. Navy, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
Some shipowners have submitted their transit plans to the Maritime Cooperation and Guidance group in Bahrain, Lloyd’s List editor-in-chief Richard Meade said at a briefing on Thursday.
The assumption is that the U.S. Navy provides limited assurance that it will intercept incoming threats to commercial ships, Meade said.
“Transit decisions rest solely with ship operators,” Meade said. he said. “Industrial operators tell us they are not centrally coordinated.”
A defense official told CNBC that US forces did not escort merchant ships passing through Hormuz. The official said that they provide communication and coordination with ships that want to pass freely and safely through the strait.
Ship transits through Hormuz are still well below pre-war levels. Traffic on the sea lane fell to the lowest point of the US-Iran conflict in May, according to Lloyd’s List.
In early May, President Donald Trump abruptly halted a short-lived U.S. Navy mission called Project Freedom, which aimed to keep traffic flowing by escorting ships stranded in the Gulf through Hormuz.
Ships stranded in the Gulf risk attack by Iranian forces unless they receive Tehran’s approval to sail through a designated route via Hormuz. The ships also face US sanctions if they cooperate with Iran.
Conflict at ship crossings
US and Iranian forces clashed in and around Hormuz earlier this week, sending oil prices briefly rising as investors worried the ceasefire would be broken and all-out war would resume.
U.S. Central Command said in a statement Tuesday that the exchange of fire began when Iran launched three attack drones against “civilian mariners rightfully transiting through regional waters.” CENTCOM said US forces shot down these drones and launched self-defense strikes against Iranian forces on Qeshm Island.
Iran then launched ballistic missiles at Kuwait and Bahrain, but those missiles either failed or were intercepted, CENTCOM said. Tehran struck Kuwait International Airport on Wednesday, killing one person and wounding others. According to the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The United States must respond to Iran’s attacks on commercial shipping, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday. Rubio said drones are not precise and could hit any part of the ship, risking an ecological disaster.
“If they don’t shoot at those ships, we won’t shoot at them, but we have to respond,” Rubio told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
