Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Friday said the US Navy was preparing to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz “as soon as it’s reasonable to do it,” as traffic through the key trade route remains choked due to the US-Israel war on Iran.
“As soon as it’s reasonable to do it, we’ll escort ships through the straits and get the energy moving again,” he told US broadcaster Fox News’s “Fox and Friends” show.
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US President Donald Trump had said on Tuesday that the US Navy would “begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible” in a bid to avoid disruption of global oil supplies.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that handles about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil exports, has been largely avoided by many commercial vessels after repeated attacks on ships and threats from Iranian forces.
The result is a near-halt in commercial tanker movements through the strait, which normally handles about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments. The interruption has had a chilling effect on global shipping logistics.
Analysts stressed that the trajectory of global shipping costs and energy markets will largely hinge on how long the conflict lasts and whether it intensifies further.
An extended disruption in the Strait of Hormuz would likely keep freight rates elevated, compel vessels to take longer alternative routes around Africa, and lock in higher transportation costs across global trade networks.
The development followed Qatar’s state-run energy firm’s Tuesday resolve to halt some downstream production a day after stopping the production of liquefied natural gas as Iran attacked facilities at two gas processing plants.
