As conflict in Iran resumed last week, ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz have come under fire once again. Yet, sources indicate that shipping firms are refusing to use a U.S.-made transit scheme citing safety concerns.
With Iranian mines planted in formerly safe zones, ships are forced to sail through one of two makeshift routes near either the Iranian or Omani coast, Reuters reported.
According to a June Reuters report, the U.S. military assisted tankers by conducting dozens of covert ship-to-ship oil transfers to maintain Gulf energy exports, using air and sea drones alongside helicopters for guidance. Through this scheme, tens of millions of barrels of oil were exported in order to mitigate the disruption of oil and gas supplies.
However, ships are avoiding the Omani coast due to Iranian attacks aimed at forcing vessels toward Iran’s own coastline instead.
On July 14, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for assaulting two Emirati oil supertankers.
Success
You are now signed up for our newsletter
Success
Check your email to complete sign up
According to data from the United Nations’ (UN) International Maritime Organization (IMO), around nine ships have been attacked as of July 17.
In one attack on the tanker Al Bahyah off the coast of Oman on July 14, one seafarer was killed and three were wounded, IMO recorded. Another attack on the tanker Mombasa B left eleven crew members injured on the same day.
Sources said they are unsure if all these ships were sailing under the U.S. scheme.
“The U.S. doesn’t seem to have any control over the situation,” one shipping source said.
“Iran’s continued ability to target ships sailing through the Omani route means the Trump administration’s proposed solution to keep ships moving is unlikely to work,” Torbjorn Solvedt, principal Middle East analyst with risk intelligence company Veisk Maplecroft, said according to Reuters.
READ MORE:
- Iran Exported $6 Billion Worth of Oil to China During Truce via Ship-to-Ship Transfers: Report
- Iranian Scholar Says Beijing Treats Tehran as a ‘Tactical Tool’ to Drain US Resources
- Iran Declares ‘Full-Scale War’ as US Expands Airstrikes
Renewed conflict
Despite a peace agreement between the United States and Iran, hostilities between the two countries continued.
The U.S. has guided more than 100 vessels through the Hormuz Strait, with over 300 more ships passing through without escort. This seems to prove that the U.S. protection scheme is working, despite being in quantities below the war.
Olivia Wales, spokeswoman for the White House, said, “The Strait of Hormuz is open, and oil is flowing. Iran is committing acts of international terrorism by shooting at peaceful commercial vessels, targeting and murdering innocent civilians, and the United States is responding forcefully.”
However, shipping traffic through the strait had fallen as of July 20 after U.S. President Donald Trump reimposed a blockade, CNBC reported. This came after Iran declared a “blanket ban on maritime traffic” and new strikes on commercial vessels, forcing operators and shippers to reconsider their transits through the Gulf.
With a new blockade on Iranian ports and more attacks, Iran warned on July 15 that it would close off “more regional energy exports.” It would also encourage its Houthi allies in Yemen to close the Bab el-Mandeb, a strait leading into the Red Sea, to open a new front against the U.S.
President Trump shared on Truth Social on July 14 that the Strait of Hormuz “is open to ALL Ship traffic except for Iran.”
After three tankers were attacked, the U.S. Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center raised its risk rating to ships in the strait from “substantial” to “severe.”
The U.S. Navy previously sent a note to shipping companies that would help advise ship crews “but may not be able to communicate threats to vessels in real-time.” Several sources also indicated that the U.S. military had not been clear on the risks through the Omano route.
“They have stated that the Strait of Hormuz is ‘not closed’ and remains available to use,” a maritime security source said, according to Reuters. “This is making operators nervous and uncertain. Whilst they all have to make their own risk assessments, this is clearly not safe, so why say it is open?”
Two Greek maritime security companies, Diaplous and MARISKS, both warned that these risks are too high for voyages.
“At this stage, there is no assurance that transits through the Strait of Hormuz can be conducted with an acceptable level of safety,” MARISKS said on July 14.
