The US military has assisted approximately 900 commercial vessels carrying 450m barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz since early May, according to US Central Command.
The figures were released on 20 July after the completion of a military operation at 9pm ET. CENTCOM said the action targeted military command centres, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and air-defence systems linked to threats against commercial shipping.
“Commercial vessel transits through the vital international maritime corridor continue,” the command stated. CENTCOM did not disclose the vessels’ types, flags or cargoes, or explain what forms of military assistance were included in the total.
A 16 July maritime advisory recorded 10 US-assisted transits on 14 and 15 July. Total traffic stood at 13 passages on 14 July and 12 on 15 July, against a historical average of approximately 138 vessels per day. The threat level remained severe after 10 attacks since 25 June, amid satellite-navigation interference and risks from drifting or uncharted mines.
Supertanker crossings averaged two per day in the week to 20 July, compared with five in the previous week and eight per day in late June and early July. Only two or three ship-to-ship oil transfers were estimated to have taken place in recent days.
US Central Command is a unified combatant command headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. Its area of responsibility covers 21 countries across the Middle East, Central Asia and parts of South Asia.