U.S. military escorts increasing number of tankers through Strait of Hormuz

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated that the U.S. military is escorting vessels carrying approximately 7 million barrels of oil and petroleum products per day through the Strait of Hormuz.

According to Ukrinform, Politico reported this.

This volume represents about half of what was passing through the Strait of Hormuz before the U.S. and Israel began attacking Iran in February. And the volumes being escorted out of the region are increasing, Wright added.

According to him, before the war, about 20 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf every day. He added that about 5 million of that volume shifted to pipelines and other modes of transport, while production in the rest of the world increased by about 1 million, leaving a shortfall of about 14 million barrels.

“Flows today are approaching half of the gap, and they’re rising,” Wright said.

He added that the naval escort indicates that the Trump administration is achieving its dual goals of controlling energy prices while simultaneously preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

As reported by Ukrinform, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that the issue of Iran charging service fees for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz is under negotiation between the U.S. and Iran.

Photo: U.S. Central Command