US energy chief: Hormuz shipping could resume without full mine clearance

Not all naval mines deployed by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz would need to be cleared before commercial shipping can resume, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Tuesday, April 28, suggesting that reopening the vital route could happen relatively quickly.

“You just need a pathway for ships to be moved in and out,” Wright said in an interview on the sidelines of the Three Seas Summit and Business Forum in Dubrovnik. “I think that can happen quickly.”

Iran has stated that it laid mines along the most frequently used routes of the narrow waterway, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas transited before the outbreak of war involving the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic. The strait has effectively been closed since late February, triggering major supply disruptions and sharp increases in global oil prices, as well as refined products such as diesel and gasoline.

Shipping companies have been reluctant to navigate the strait amid concerns over potential vessel seizures, the presence of mines, and the absence of sufficient security guarantees.

According to a senior US Defence Department official cited by The Washington Post, fully clearing the waterway of mines could take up to six months, based on a classified briefing to Congress last week.

The prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz is expected to extend what analysts describe as a historic disruption to global energy markets. In the United States, rising fuel prices are becoming a growing political concern ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, with pressure mounting on Donald Trump and his Republican Party.

In a separate interview with Bloomberg Television, Wright also said the United States plans to announce “historic” pipeline agreements aimed at significantly increasing exports of US oil and natural gas to Europe. The initiative is part of what he described as the Trump administration’s “Peace Pipeline Agenda.”

By Tamilla Hasanova