US navy mulls escorting ships via Strait of Hormuz

His remark came as the news agency Reuters reported that the US Navy has, so far, refused requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz.

In the past few days, US President Donald Trump has said that the US was prepared to provide naval escorts whenever needed to restart regular shipments along the key waterway.

Earlier in the day, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright deleted a post on X, in which he said the US Navy had successfully escorted one through the region.

Meanwhile, Gen Dan Caine said the Pentagon was working on options to get commercial maritime traffic moving. “We’ll look at the range of options to set the military conditions to be able to do that. We’ll also figure out how to solve problems as they come to us,” he added.

Since the first US and Israeli strikes began on February 28, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed to a trickle. About 20 percent of the world’s oil moves through the strait as well as 20 percent of the world’s liquefied natural gas.

On Monday, Trump had also said that the US would retaliate against Iran should it try to block the flow of oil through the chokepoint that links the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman to the Persian Gulf.

“But when the time comes, the US Navy and its partners will escort tankers through the strait, if needed,” the President said during a press conference in Florida.

“I hope it’s not going to be needed, but if it’s needed, we’ll escort them right through,” he added.

On Tuesday, US Central Command announced the US had sunk 16 minelaying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. France, European and non-European states are also in the process of setting up a support mission to escort merchant ships through the Strait of Hormuz.