Defiant Ships Slip Through Strait of Hormuz as Helicopter Presence Deters Iranian Boats

(SeaPRwire) –   Although the United States and Iran remain at an impasse regarding a ceasefire extension and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, reports suggest that some vessels are no longer waiting, opting instead to transit the disputed waterway with U.S. military guidance.

The strait has been effectively blocked for three months, leaving 2,000 ships and one-fifth of the world’s pre-conflict oil supply stranded in the Persian Gulf.

While U.S. and Israeli forces have largely dismantled Iran’s conventional military capabilities, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) maintains the power to obstruct the strait using drones, missiles, mines, and fast-attack craft.

Since the closure, most vessels attempting to navigate the area have sought permission from the IRGC, which has mined the primary channel and established an alternative path through its own territorial waters.

Last month, the U.S. Navy initiated mine-clearing efforts and deployed two destroyers through the strait to restore navigation via a route near the Omani coast. This was followed by “Project Freedom” earlier this month, which aimed to assist more ships in exiting the region but concluded after only a few days.

Despite the brevity of that initiative, shipowners informed Bloomberg that traffic has increased over the past week as the U.S. military provides guidance on navigating the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Central Command maintains that it is not escorting vessels, but rather providing advisory support to commercial ships operating in the area.

According to a Bloomberg report, Iranian fast-attack boats approached a convoy of ships transiting the strait, only to retreat upon the sudden appearance of helicopters, the origin of which was not specified.

Central Command did not immediately provide a response to a request for comment.

Bloomberg reports that the vessels successfully crossing include ships that had been trapped in the Gulf since the conflict began, as well as others entering and exiting the region. These include tankers carrying liquid natural gas from Qatar and vessels belonging to the UAE’s state-owned oil company.

While this uptick in traffic is insufficient to prevent a global oil market crisis if the strait does not fully reopen soon, approximately one-quarter of the non-Iranian vessels previously stranded in the Gulf have now departed.

To avoid detection by Iranian forces, many ships are disabling their Automatic Identification Systems (AIS), the navigational beacons used to broadcast vessel positions and prevent collisions.

Sources told the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. military is monitoring traffic via radar, drones, and other assets to facilitate safe passage, while also advising crews on when to deactivate AIS and how to react to Iranian provocations.

The report noted that a Greek supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil successfully navigated the route near the Omani coast earlier this week, followed by a Chinese-owned vessel transporting fertilizer.

Challenging Iran’s claims of sovereignty over the strait carries significant risks. The IRGC has continued to launch attacks within the Gulf and has attempted to deploy additional underwater mines. In response, the U.S. has destroyed Iranian vessels and conducted airstrikes on missile sites in Iran that targeted U.S. aircraft.

Meanwhile, Tehran has sought to formalize its control over the waterway by establishing the “Persian Gulf Strait Authority.” The U.S. has sanctioned this entity and issued warnings that any agreements with Iran to secure passage through the strait are prohibited.

“Regardless of whether a payment is made, U.S. persons are prohibited from receiving services from the Government of Iran, including services related to a guarantee of safe passage,” the Treasury Department stated on Friday.