Chevron CEO: US Navy could escort commercial vessels in Hormuz

The chief executive of Chevron said it is likely that the U.S. Navy may need to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz once it reopens, in order to ensure security for shipping.

Tensions over the strait have intensified amid threats from Iran against the key maritime route and a U.S. blockade on Iranian ports, which has effectively closed the channel. The situation has led to several maritime incidents in recent days.

Speaking on Thursday, April 23, in an interview with “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth outlined the conditions needed for the company to feel confident about sending vessels through the strait.

“We'd have to believe that our people on the ship will be safe, the cargo will be safe, and they can be transited with a high degree of confidence.”

Wirth said any such decision would be made “in collaboration” with the U.S. Navy and other military organisations around the world.

“I think in the early days, it's very likely that you could see naval escorts, because I think some of the risks are not just mines that could be placed in the strait, but they could be also risks that could come from the land in other forms,” Wirth said. “So I think having the Navy with those ships that make the first transit would provide a higher degree of confidence than if there were to be something [that] happened, that you'd have some measure of defence.”

Since the start of the war, Donald Trump has sent mixed signals about how the United States would secure the waterway, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.

On Thursday, Trump said that U.S. minesweepers were working to clear the strait and directed the Navy to “shoot and kill” Iranian boats placing mines in the waterway.

By Tamilla Hasanova