Trump boasts about securing Hormuz with naval power. Iran said, send in the warships please...

Trump's showboating about military escorts for oil tankers entering the Straits of Hormuz is already burnt to a crisp and unworkable as admitted. His insurance guarantee has also fallen on deaf ears. No one is taking up his offer.

Shipowners are not going to pay the extra cost of such escort on top of paying insurance premiums that are unsustainable. Even then, the risk is still very high. In fact, Iran has not blockaded the Straits of Hormuz, but the real deterrence had been the inability to get insurance cover and the perceived threat.

Trump now talks about USA going to secure the Straits of Hormuz using its naval power, another idea that is going to be shot down. Sure, Trump has been targeting Iranian mine laying ships, but mines are not just laid by vessels and in great numbers and there are many ways to do it. Let us say the USA navy managed to secure the Straits, guarding it day and night. Just one stray mine into the Persian Gulf in isolation and one ship gets blown up and sunk and the whole fairy tale is going to end in disaster. No other shipowner will take this kind of risk. There are many ways to talk about countering and there are just as many ways to counter the countering. What man builds, man can also destroy.


Anonymous