Tankers are seen off the coast of Fujairah, the United Arab Emirates, March 3, after Iran vowed to fire on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran. Reuters-Yonhap
WASHINGTON — The U.S. energy secretary said Friday the U.S. Navy was preparing to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz "as soon as it's reasonable to do it," as traffic through the key trade route remains strangled due to the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
"As soon as it's reasonable to do it, we'll escort ships through the straits and get the energy moving again," Chris Wright told U.S. broadcaster Fox News's "Fox and Friends" show.
U.S. President Donald Trump had said Tuesday that the U.S. Navy would "begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible" in a bid to avoid a disruption of global oil supplies.
A fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas travels through the strait.
The U.S.-Israel war on Iran launched a week ago and Tehran's retaliatory attacks across the Gulf region have sent crude prices soaring to their highest in nearly two years — fanning fears of a fresh spike in inflation that could hit the global economy.
"On Thursday, day six of the conflict, commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained virtually nonexistent, with activity largely limited to Iranian vessels," said a JP Morgan note released Friday.
International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol, however, sought to tamp down fears of a global oil crisis, saying Friday that there was "plenty of oil in the market."
Wright also addressed a U.S. decision to allow India a temporary sanctions exemption to buy Russian oil as being "pragmatic."
The U.S. energy secretary said there was "no change in policy against Russia," whose energy industry continues to face strict U.S. sanctions over Moscow's war in Ukraine.
Source: Korea Times News
