USS Bataan and the USS Carter Hall (Image source: war.gov)
More than 70 commercial vessels have been attacked since the conflict began on February 28, according to FT. However, shipbroker Clarksons does not expect disruption to shipping through the strait to ease until at least the second half of 2027, according to the FT.
The United States has restricted the hours during which it provides military protection specifically air protection to commercial tankers sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, after a surge in Iranian attacks on ships using the strategic waterway, according to a Financial Times report. The US military said those strikes followed an attack by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on an American warship with ballistic missiles. Iran has also announced plans for a “restricted zone” in the Strait of Hormuz. Mohsen Rezaei, head of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, said the zone would extend from the US naval blockade towards the strait and into the Persian Gulf. Tehran said ships entering the zone could face unspecified “sanctions”. Retired US Vice Admiral John Miller, who previously commanded American naval forces in the Middle East, said the US would need to conserve its military resources if the protection mission continued for an extended period.
The change came as attacks on commercial shipping intensified. Iran said on Wednesday that it had targeted two US vessels and eight oil tankers in retaliation for US strikes on five Iranian tankers.