The United States has set up a maritime shipping corridor across the Strait of Hormuz to allow shipping of millions of barrels of crude oil daily, while the conflict with Iran goes on in a standstill, reports ANI quoting news outlet Axios, citing two US officials.
The development comes amid the US President Donald Trump’s decision to rule out extending a fragile 60-day ceasefire with Tehran, emphasising that Washington maintains "total control" over the open Strait of Hormuz.
As per a statement by the officials, the operation has been going on for several weeks, with 15 to 20 oil tankers moving via a southern channel along Oman's coastline every night. Nearly 10 million barrels of oil per day, around half of the pre-conflict volume, are being exported from the Gulf into international markets.
Apart from escorting loaded vessels, the initiative also aids empty tankers in travelling from the Arabian Sea via the strait into Gulf ports to load oil before making the return journey.
Moreover, Nightly shipments of nearly 20 oil tankers have kept daily export volumes steady at around 10 million barrels over the last two weeks, with occasional high volumes reaching between 15 million and 20 million barrels per day.
Despite current energy flows remaining below pre-war levels, the operation has mitigated a major economic disruption resulting from the conflict in one of the world's primary energy transit points.
Moreover, US President Donald Trump clarified that Washington has no active engagement with Tehran for negotiations stating that "There is a tremendous amount of oil coming out of the Strait of Hormuz."
