U.S. Completes Initial Escort of Ships Through Strait of Hormuz

U.S. effort to guide ships exiting the Strait of Hormuz, but paused the initiative by Tuesday to allow time for a deal to end the Iran war. Two ships completed the transit under the short-lived project.

U.S. military assets. The transit was completed without incident and all crew members are safe and unharmed, Maersk said in a statement.

The risks to commercial shipping have not eased. A cargo container ship operated by the CMA CGM Group was damaged when it came under attack while attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, the French shipping company reported Wednesday. Insurance costs for vessels in the region jumped from less than 1 percent of the value of goods on a ship to anywhere from 3 percent to 10 percent during the conflict, according to Ed Anderson, a professor of supply chain and operations management at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business.

Hapag-Lloyd AG, which operates a fleet of 301 ships including four stranded in the Persian Gulf, said the Hormuz situation is costing it $60 million a week. The company has suspended some transport services and sought alternate routes either to safe harbors or over land, though it noted these options are limited in capacity and cannot fully replace the regular maritime routes.

Before the Iran war, 100 to 135 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz daily, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

Iran has demanded that vessels undergo a vetting process run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to receive safe passage. The process requires ships to follow a route near Iran’s coast, submit information on crew and cargo, and in at least some cases pay a fee. Air Force Gen.

Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday there are more than 1,550 vessels with about 22,500 mariners inside the Persian Gulf. U.S. Navy is blockading Iran’s ports and enforcing the blockade outside the strait in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.