A cargo ship sailing through the Strait of Hormuz was attacked, killing one crew member, but President Donald Trump said Tuesday the waterway was “open and operational.”
Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations Center said on Tuesday that a projectile struck the ship as it was leaving Hormuz, damaging the engine room. Oman’s coast guard is assisting the remaining crew. According to the UKMTO report, no environmental damage was reported.
According to the Joint Maritime Information Center, the ship was sailing south less than a nautical mile from the Omani coast when it was attacked. Although the U.S. military supports ships navigating the Southern Passage, Iran continues to successfully attack ships plying the route.
“The Strait of Hormuz is open and operational. All torpedoes have been removed or detonated,” President Trump said in a Truth Social post hours after the attack. U.S. Central Command referred CNBC to the White House when asked for confirmation whether all mines in the strait had been cleared.
At least 17 sailors have been killed in 65 attacks on commercial ships since the war between the United States and Iran began on February 28, according to the United Nations agency International Maritime Organization.
Ship traffic through Hormuz has remained low so far this week, with 10 crossings on Monday and two on Sunday, according to data provided by trade information firm Kpler.
The five-day average of vessel voyages was about 10, the lowest level since May 11, according to a CNBC analysis of Kupler’s data. Before the war, about 130 ships passed through Hormuz every day.
President Trump said the United States has not had any discussions with Iran. A memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Tehran on June 17 to open the port of Hormuz expired on Monday without a final agreement.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Berger Ghalibaf said on Tuesday that Hormuz Island would remain closed until the US fulfills its commitments under the memorandum, according to state news agency Tasnim.
The United States and Iran have been vying for control of Hormuz since the Memorandum of Understanding collapsed due to conflicting interpretations of the deal.
Iran has repeatedly attacked ships navigating the U.S.-protected southern sea lanes in an effort to blockade the corridor. Tehran is demanding that ships instead take a northern route through its territorial waters.
Data from maritime intelligence firm Windward shows that monthly exports through Hormuz have increased under the protection of the US military, but tanker traffic remains restricted.
Crude oil exports via Hormuz rose to about 5 million barrels per day in July, compared with about 4 million barrels per day in June and 1.6 million barrels per day in May, said Michel Wiese Bockmann, a marine intelligence analyst at Windward. Before the war, about 20 million barrels of crude oil and products per day, equivalent to one-fifth of the world’s oil consumption, were exported through the strait.
“Transportation expanded rapidly against a backdrop of extreme risk,” Bockman said.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said last week that oil exports through Hormuz had reached a seven-day average of nearly 9 million barrels a day, higher than most independent company estimates.
“Many private companies underestimate the number of ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz because they move through the waterway clandestinely,” Wright said in a social media post.
