Nearly 40 ships previously stranded in the Persian Gulf have exited through the Strait of Hormuz over the past three weeks as vessels quietly coordinate with the U.S. Navy, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
Some shipowners are submitting their transit plans to the Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping group in Bahrain, said Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of Lloyd’s List, in a briefing Thursday.
The assumption is that the U.S. Navy is providing limited assurances that it will intercept incoming threats against commercial ships, Meade said.
“Transit decisions remain solely with ship operators,” Meade said. “Industry operators tell us that they are not being centrally coordinated.”
U.S. forces are not escorting commercial ships through Hormuz, a defense official told CNBC. They are communicating and coordinating with ships that seek to freely and safely transit the strait, the official said.
Ship transits through Hormuz still remain way below prewar levels. Traffic through the sea lane fell to the lowest point of the U.S.-Iran conflict in May, according to Lloyd’s List.
President Donald Trump in early May abruptly shut down a short-lived U.S. Navy mission, called Project Freedom, that sought to get traffic flowing by escorting ships stranded in the Gulf through Hormuz.
Ships stuck in the Gulf risk attack by Iranian forces unless they receive Tehran’s approval to transit a designated route through Hormuz. The vessels also risk U.S. sanctions if they cooperate with Iran.
Clashes over ship transits
U.S. and Iranian forces have clashed in and around Hormuz earlier this week, briefly spiking oil prices as investors worried that the ceasefire would collapse and full-scale war would resume.
U.S. Central Command said Tuesday the exchange of fire started with Iran launching three attack drones toward “civilian mariners that were rightfully transiting regional waters.” U.S. forces shot down those drones and carried out self defense strikes against Iranian forces on Qeshm Island, CENTCOM said.
Iran then launched ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain, which either fell short or were intercepted, CENTCOM said. Tehran hit Kuwait International Airport on Wednesday killing one person and injuring others, according to Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the U.S. has to respond to Iranian attacks on commercial ships. The drones are not precise and could hit any part of the vessel, which risks an ecological disaster, Rubio said.
“If they don’t shoot at those ships, we don’t shoot but we have to respond,” Rubio told the House Foreign Relations Committee.
