Cargo vessels and tanker owners, who hoped for a U.S. escort out of the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week, are back scrambling to find feasible solutions to passing the critical trade chokepoint after U.S. President Donald Trump called off the ‘Project Freedom‘ effort to help guide vessels out of the Strait, just three days after announcing it.
Over the weekend, President Trump announced ‘Project Freedom‘ to help guide vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz, and some ships did pass the chokepoint under U.S. protection early this week.
One of two such vessels was a ship operated by a subsidiary of Denmark-based shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk, the company confirmed this week. The ship, Alliance Fairfax, had been stranded west of the Strait of Hormuz since the war began on February 28, Maersk said.
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But the short-lived relief that stranded ships could soon find their way out of the Strait was cut short only three days into the project Freedom endeavor. President Trump late on Tuesday called off the effort, saying in a social media post that “while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed.”
The Strait of Hormuz was mostly clear of traffic after the pause of the Project Freedom plan, according to vessel-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg.
Since Project Freedom was announced and later abandoned, Iran has signaled it is expanding the area around the Strait of Hormuz it now controls.
Early on Wednesday, reports emerged that the U.S. believed it was nearing a framework agreement to end the war with Iran—a deal that would eventually reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices plunged by 12% early in the morning EDT before paring their losses.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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