Overview
- Trump directed the U.S. Development Finance Corporation to provide political risk insurance and guarantees for all maritime trade in the Gulf, effective immediately, with a focus on energy cargoes.
- He said the U.S. Navy will escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary, though operational details were not provided and a Lloyd’s List report says the Navy told industry it lacks availability to escort transits.
- Commercial passage through the strait has sharply declined, with shipping data showing only a handful of transits, hundreds of vessels waiting to move, and the Joint Maritime Information Center elevating the risk level to critical.
- Major marine insurers, including Gard, Skuld, NorthStandard and London P&I, have cut back or canceled war‑risk coverage for Gulf routes, with some cancellations taking effect March 5, compounding the freeze in traffic.
- Iran’s IRGC declared the waterway closed and threatened to attack ships, while CENTCOM said Iranian naval assets in the Gulf of Oman were destroyed and asserted the strait remains open, as oil prices spiked to $85 before easing to just over $80 and U.S. gasoline prices climbed.