TEHRAN – Strait of Hormuz is getting harder and riskier for commercial ships to cross. With Iranian forces stepping up attacks on vessels, the US quietly tightened the hours in which its aircraft will provide the strongest protection to tankers attempting to make the dangerous journey through the strategic waterway, FT reported.
The change means ships can no longer rely on the same broad overnight protection that was previously available. Instead, US authorities are now directing commercial vessels toward two recommended transit windows each day.
The timings can change from one day to another, and ships are not being forced to follow them. But vessels that use the recommended windows are expected to have a better chance of receiving maximum US military support. The shift marks a major change in Washington’s approach to protecting commercial shipping.
US has been offering aerial defence to tankers using a route close to Oman’s coastline on the southern side of the strait. The aim was straightforward: keep ships moving and prevent Iranian attacks from choking off oil exports from the Gulf.
Shipowners previously had to coordinate with the US Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping, or NCAGS, before making the crossing.
The American centre would provide coordinates and instructions for the route, allowing vessels to travel under the watch of US aircraft during broad overnight protection periods. Now, that protection is being concentrated into much smaller windows.
Ships were told to begin their journey around 9am. Other recommended timings can change depending on the day. The reason behind the change is becoming increasingly clear. Nighttime is no longer necessarily the safest time to cross.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been using small patrol boats to search for commercial vessels travelling along the Omani route. Ships have often attempted to stay hidden by switching off their lights and navigation signals, but those tactics have not prevented Iranian forces from detecting and attacking vessels. And the journey itself is lengthy.
A commercial ship moving at slow or moderate speed can take around seven hours to get through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving it exposed for a considerable period.
More than 70 commercial vessels have reportedly been attacked since the war began on February 28, turning what is normally one of the world’s busiest energy corridors into a high-risk maritime battlefield. The latest escalation has involved both military and commercial targets.
Iran said it had attacked two US vessels and eight oil tankers in retaliation for American strikes on five Iranian tankers. US military, meanwhile, said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had earlier fired ballistic missiles at an American warship.
Further tanker attacks were reported near Dubai and off Iraq. For Washington, protecting every ship around the clock is also becoming a massive military burden. A US military aircraft can cost between $25,000 and $75,000 to operate for a single hour, according to naval analyst Joshua Tallis of CNA.
Keeping aircraft in the air continuously would therefore consume enormous resources.
By concentrating its protection around selected hours, the US can put more aircraft and military capability into smaller periods rather than spreading its resources thinly across an entire night. That could give tankers greater protection when they are actually passing through the most dangerous areas.
But the bigger problem is that there is no clear end in sight.
Iran has announced plans for a new “restricted zone” around the Strait of Hormuz and warned that ships entering the area could face sanctions. Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the proposed zone would stretch from the US naval blockade toward the strait and then into the Persian Gulf.
Tehran has not explained exactly what sanctions ships could face. At the same time, Iran says it is close to reaching a preliminary agreement with Oman over how the waterway could be managed in the future.
For shipping companies, however, diplomacy has yet to translate into safety. Shipbroker Clarksons expects disruption to continue until at least the second half of 2027, suggesting that tanker operators could be dealing with an unstable Hormuz for a long time. The impact is already spreading through the global energy market.
Tanker freight costs have surged as operators demand higher premiums to take the risk of sailing through the Gulf, while concerns over oil supplies have pushed energy prices higher.
Retired US Vice Admiral John Miller, a former commander of American naval forces in the Middle East, said Washington has to think beyond the immediate crisis. If the conflict continues for months, maintaining air cover over commercial shipping around the clock simply would not be sustainable.
That explains the new schedule. For tanker crews, however, the change boils down to something much simpler: when you enter the Strait of Hormuz could now be almost as important as how you cross it.
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