LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) – The U.S. Navy has refused almost daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war with Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The Navy’s assessments signify a continued disruption to Middle Eastern oil exports and reflect a divergence from President Donald Trump’s statements that the U.S. is prepared to provide naval escorts whenever necessary to restart regular shipments along the critical waterway.
Shipping through the strait has been largely halted since the start of the US and Israeli war against Iran more than a week ago, halting exports of about a fifth of the world’s oil supply and causing global oil prices to rise to levels not seen since 2022.
A senior official in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the strait is closed and that Iran will fire on any ship that tries to pass through, Iranian media reported last week. Several ships have already been hit.
The U.S. Navy has been holding regular meetings with its shipping and oil industry peers and has said during those meetings that it cannot provide escorts for now, three shipping industry sources familiar with the matter said.
The sources, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the shipping industry has been making almost daily requests for naval escorts through the strait.
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One of the sources said the Navy’s assessment during Tuesday’s briefing had not changed and that escorts would only be possible when the risk of attack was reduced.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
TRUMP PROMISES NAVAL ESCORTS
Trump has repeatedly said in recent days that the United States is prepared to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz when necessary.
‘When the time comes, the US Navy and its partners will escort tankers through the strait if necessary. I hope it’s not necessary, but if necessary, we will escort them,’ he said on Monday during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
U.S. forces have begun looking at options for potentially escorting ships through the strait if ordered to do so, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday.
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“We’re looking at a number of options,” Caine told reporters at the Pentagon.
A US official told Reuters that US forces have not yet escorted any commercial ships through the strait. Earlier, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright deleted a post on X in which he said the Navy had successfully escorted a ship.
While there has been some travel through the waterway in recent days, most maritime traffic remains suspended, with hundreds of ships at anchor.
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SECURITY CHALLENGES INCREASE IN THE STRAIT
Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, the world’s biggest oil exporter, said on Tuesday there would be ‘catastrophic consequences’ for world oil markets if the war with Iran continues to disrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Maritime security experts and analysts have said it will be difficult to secure the strait even if the effort involves an international coalition, due to Iran’s ability to deploy mines or low-cost attack drones.
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“Neither France, nor the United States, nor an international coalition, nor anyone else is in a position to protect the Strait of Hormuz,” said Adel Bakawan, director of the European Institute for Middle East and North African Studies.
Last week, Iran used a remote-controlled boat loaded with explosives to damage an oil tanker anchored in Iraqi waters, according to initial assessments from two Iraqi port security sources.
A maritime security source said security of the strait could require the US to take control of Iran’s vast coastline.
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‘There are not enough naval vessels to do this and the risks remain high, even with an escort. One or two vessels could be overwhelmed by a swarm (of fast boats or drones),’ the source said.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon renewed threats to strike Iran harder unless shipments can get through and said it was striking Iranian ships that lay mines and mine storage facilities.
