All posts tagged: Chokepoint

Rubio’s bypass plan: Can the world escape the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint? | US-Israel war on Iran News

Rubio’s bypass plan: Can the world escape the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint? | US-Israel war on Iran News

Published by Sam Flores

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s latest remarks about the Strait of Hormuz have ignited a fierce debate over the future of global energy transit. Speaking to Fox News in an interview that aired on Saturday, Rubio projected the idea of a permanent geopolitical shift outside of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one fifth of global seaborne oil trade passed before the start of the US-Israel war on Iran. He argued that regional states now understand that Iran, which insists it will not give up control the strategic waterway, is an active threat, necessitating a massive realignment of how energy commodities flow to markets across the world. However, economic experts and geopolitical analysts warn that redrawing the Middle East’s energy map is fraught with insurmountable logistical and security hurdles. (Al Jazeera) A strategic vision, not a quick fix To understand the magnitude of Rubio’s vision, one must look at the sheer volume of trade passing through the waterway. According to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the narrow 39-kilometre (24-mile) …

Iran Says Two Tankers Exploded In Hormuz Chokepoint As Ship Traffic Near Standstill

Iran Says Two Tankers Exploded In Hormuz Chokepoint As Ship Traffic Near Standstill

Published by Jenni Sidey

Visible maritime traffic through the Hormuz chokepoint remained subdued into the new week after Iranian forces allgedly targeted tankers attempting to transit the narrow waterway, including routes close to Oman. This comes as the US and Iran have been locked in a dangerous tit-for-tat escalation that has entered its ninth day. UK maritime authorities reported an unverified vessel fire near Oman late Sunday. Reuters reports that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed two crude oil tankers exploded and were immobilized while using what Tehran called an unsafe southern route in the Hormuz. Bloomberg ship-tracking data shows that vessels crossing the Hormuz chokepoint have come to a near standstill as Gulf escalation has surged for the ninth day, with Iran targeting not just the maritime chokepoint but also US military assets at Jordan’s Aqaba airport with ballistic missiles, as well as US assets at Kuwait’s Al-Adiri camp and Ali Al Salem Air Base, and in Syria. Iran also hit civilian infrastructure, notably power generation and water desalination plants in Kuwait. There is a power struggle for control over …

Windward Says “Zero AIS Transits” On Hormuz Chokepoint

Windward Says “Zero AIS Transits” On Hormuz Chokepoint

Published by Jenni Sidey

US-Iran technical talks are underway on Sunday, with Qatari mediators involved. Ahead of the talks, likely focused on Iran’s nuclear program, Tehran attempted to reassert leverage over the Strait of Hormuz following renewed Israel-Hezbollah fighting in Lebanon. Iran announced the closure of the strait on Saturday, framing the move as retaliation for alleged violations of the US-Iran interim peace deal.  Early Sunday, maritime intelligence and risk analytics firm Windward wrote on X, “Hours after the IRGC’s closure announcement, AIS traffic through the Strait of Hormuz suggested business as usual.” Hours after the IRGC’s closure announcement, AIS traffic through the Strait of Hormuz suggested business as usual. But overnight, the picture shifted: zero AIS transits were recorded through the strait, and only two non-Iranian commercial vessels were AIS-visible this morning.… pic.twitter.com/F4djrrT38m — Windward (@WindwardAI) June 21, 2026 “But overnight, the picture shifted: zero AIS transits were recorded through the strait, and only two non-Iranian commercial vessels were AIS-visible this morning. Hesitation is back in an already unpredictable corridor,” Windward continued. Related: However, Bloomberg data show that …

Qatari LNG Tanker Abruptly U-Turns In Hormuz Chokepoint After Weekend Transit Breakthrough

Qatari LNG Tanker Abruptly U-Turns In Hormuz Chokepoint After Weekend Transit Breakthrough

Published by Jenni Sidey

Day 72 of the U.S.-Iran conflict opened with yet another failed diplomatic off-ramp. Tehran on Sunday submitted a counterproposal to the Trump administration’s plan to end the war, but President Trump swiftly rejected it as “totally unacceptable,” pushing WTI crude futures roughly 3% higher to $98 a barrel as traders slightly repriced the war-risk premium higher for a prolonged Strait of Hormuz disruption. Tehran’s counterproposal was a major focus over the weekend, but what caught our attention Saturday morning was a note from Bloomberg reporter Stephen Stapczynski citing ship-tracking data showing that an LNG tanker had successfully transited the critical waterway unharmed. In fact, this was the first time Qatar had exported LNG through the Strait since the war began ten weeks ago. The tanker later made a port call in Pakistan. By Monday morning, Stapczynski was tracking another fully loaded LNG tanker called “Mihzem.” “Another Qatar LNG shipment is nearing the Strait of Hormuz, bound for Pakistan,” Stapczynski wrote on X. He added, “Pakistan is dealing with a gas shortage, and has negotiated with …

U.S. Navy Deploys Sea Robots To Sweep Hormuz Chokepoint For Mines

U.S. Navy Deploys Sea Robots To Sweep Hormuz Chokepoint For Mines

Published by Jenni Sidey

The US military is deploying unmanned and autonomous surface platforms that can tow an advanced mine-hunting sonar system to detect sea mines that were deployed by Iranian naval forces. This development comes even as Iran closed the Hormuz chokepoint on Saturday morning. By Sunday morning, Iran’s chief negotiator said some progress had been made in negotiations with the US, but there is still a long way to go before a deal is reached. Despite the volatility in the Hormuz chokepoint’s operational status, somewhat like Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold,” the US military deployed numerous sea drones towing the floating sonar minesweeping system.  WSJ explained:  The Common Uncrewed Surface Vessel, a drone made by RTX that tows a new floating sonar system called the AQS-20, scans the bottom of the sea for mines, patrolling columns that are 100 feet wide at a time. Battery-powered submarine drones, called the MK18 Mod 2 Kingfish and the Knifefish, made by General Dynamics can be dropped in the water from a small boat and then scan for mines in a pattern. MK18 Mod …

US Naval Escort Won’t “100% Guarantee” Tanker Safety In Hormuz Chokepoint: Report

US Naval Escort Won’t “100% Guarantee” Tanker Safety In Hormuz Chokepoint: Report

Published by Jenni Sidey

The paralyzed Hormuz chokepoint is becoming the worst disruption to global energy flows ever, as actual barrels quickly disappear from oil markets, driving prices sharply higher in Asia toward $150 per barrel and potentially setting the stage for demand destruction in the weeks ahead. The oil market has fragmented: Oil is now trading for $150/bbl in Asia (except the occasional sanctioned Iranian tanker) where demand destruction has started. China and India most pressured. Meanwhile it is still $100 in the US https://t.co/QweAyzEN0a pic.twitter.com/YyvgAMdMwl — zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 17, 2026 President Trump has been attempting to fast-track the reopening of Hormuz by providing naval escorts for tankers and other commercial vessels. However, there are a few problems. First, Western US partners have rejected Trump’s request to send warships to help reopen the strategic waterway, which is plagued by IRGC mines and kamikaze drones. Second, Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), told the Financial Times in an interview on Tuesday that even if naval escorts materialize in the narrow waterway, they will not provide …

UBS Discusses Next Maritime Chokepoint Investors Should Watch

UBS Discusses Next Maritime Chokepoint Investors Should Watch

Published by Jenni Sidey

A lot of attention has centered on the Strait of Hormuz since the waterway was effectively shut not only by the IRGC drone threat, but mostly because maritime insurers are withdrawing war-risk coverage across the region. Our focus now shifts to the other critical maritime chokepoints. If Washington can pressure Iranian oil flows and, by extension, curb China’s cheap Gulf crude flows, then the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea also emerge as potential flashpoints that traders can no longer afford to ignore. For more color on which critical maritime chokepoints and geopolitical flashpoints investors should watch next, Bilahari Kausikan, former Permanent Secretary of Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke with UBS’s Aditi Samajpati at the 14th UBS OneASEAN Summit in Singapore to discuss the issue earlier on Thursday. Kausikan told Samajpati that China claims about 80% of the South China Sea, but other surrounding countries reject those claims, and none of the disputes are likely to be resolved in the near term. He described the situation in the highly disputed waterway as a “strategic …