Iranian merchant ship struck near Qeshm Island in Strait of Hormuz, killing one

US narrows escort windows in Strait of Hormuz

Ships near the Strait of Hormuz captured by a drone. [Reuters]

An Iranian merchant ship was struck Sunday morning near Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing armed clashes between the United States and Iran in the Middle East, Reuters reported.

Iranian state media said one person was killed and three others were wounded. The identity of the attacker and the full extent of the damage have not yet been confirmed.

The US and Iran have been trading military blows since Aug. 30, when US forces struck an Iranian rocket-launcher platform used to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Amid the escalating confrontation, the US military has reduced its escort windows for merchant ships transiting the strait to twice a day, the Financial Times reported Saturday.

Analysts say the move reflects a cost-efficiency calculation as the US-Iran standoff over control of the Strait of Hormuz shows no sign of abating.

According to an email sent by the US Navy Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping to maritime advisers, authorized transit windows through the strait have been limited to two specific time slots per day since earlier this month.

US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social claiming the Strait of Hormuz as American territory. [Social media]

In the email, the Navy Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping said it was "providing recommended transit times that vary by date," adding that while transiting within those windows was not mandatory, ships were encouraged to do so "to receive the best support available."

In a separate email, it also said "nighttime has not been proven to be the safest transit period of the day."

Since May, the US military has provided aerial defense support to vessels seeking to sail along the Omani coast south of the Strait of Hormuz, in an effort to deter Iranian attacks on the waterway and preserve at least some flow of global oil supply through the Gulf.

Under the arrangement, ship owners notify the Navy Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping before transiting the strait, then follow US-assigned coordinates and travel primarily at night under the protection of US aircraft.

The Financial Times noted that the timing of the adjustment to the US military's escort schedule coincided with an intensification of merchant ship attacks between the two sides.

Joshua Tallis, a researcher at the Center for Naval Analyses, a US think tank, said the advanced military aircraft used for ship escorts cost between $25,000 and $75,000 per hour of operation. He described the schedule adjustment as an effort to manage the cost of defending the southern Hormuz route on a sustained, open-ended basis.

John Miller, a former commander of US naval forces in the Middle East, also said it was extremely difficult to provide round-the-clock aerial cover for ships and that "guidance will need to be developed" on the matter.

cheon@heraldcorp.com