Washington (United States) (AFP) – A post by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright saying that the US Navy had escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz was deleted on Tuesday, minutes after his account had posted it. Markets have been roiled by the US-Israel war on Iran, and oil dropped sharply after Wright’s initial announcement. It pared back some of those losses after the post was deleted. The US Energy Department and Pentagon did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment on the issue.
No US ships have so far been confirmed to have escorted oil tankers in the key waterway since the war was launched on February 28, and Wright’s initial post marked the first time a US official had said this had occurred. The post being swiftly deleted added to uncertainty. Nearly a fifth of global oil production passes through the strait, with Tehran on Tuesday vowing that none would be exported from the Gulf while the war is ongoing.
Since March 2, more than 20 commercial vessels have been detected crossing the strait, according to AFP analysis of Marine Traffic data. Others have gone through the Strait of Hormuz with their transponders switched off to conceal their position, sometimes only reappearing on marine trackers once safely out of the area. Of the ships that transmitted at least one signal while attempting the passage, AFP counted nine oil tankers and two liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers. Before the war, a daily average of 138 ships transited the Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump’s administration has taken steps to try and reassure global markets since launching the war, offering reinsurance to shipping companies and the US Navy’s services to escort tankers. Crude prices have seen sharp fluctuations due to supply disruptions, jumping 30 percent on Monday to nearly $120 per barrel before retreating. They continued to fall after comments by Trump on Monday hinting that the war may end soon, even as his defense secretary vowed a day later to carry out the “most intense day of strikes inside Iran.”
The war has seen strikes carried out on oil depots in Iran and attacks on energy infrastructure in wealthy Gulf countries, previously seen as safe havens in a turbulent Middle East. In his deleted post, Wright had said that the “US Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure oil remains flowing to global markets.”
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