WHAT IS THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ?
– The strait lies between Oman and Iran
– It links the Gulf north of it with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond
– It is 21 miles (33 km) wide at its narrowest point, with the shipping lane just two miles (three km) wide in either direction
– The UAE and Saudi Arabia have sought to find other routes to bypass the Strait, including building more oil pipelines
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
– Almost a fifth of the world’s oil passes through the Strait – some 17.4 million barrels per day (bpd) versus consumption of about 100 million bpd in 2018, data from analytics firm Vortexa showed
– OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the Strait
– Qatar, the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, sends almost all of its LNG through the Strait
POLITICAL TENSIONS
– The United States has imposed sanctions on Iran aimed at halting its oil exports
– Iran has threatened to disrupt oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz if the United States tries to strangle its economy
– The U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, is tasked with protecting commercial shipping in the area
MAJOR PAST INCIDENTS
– During the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, the two sides sought to disrupt each other’s oil exports in what was known as the Tanker War
– In July 1988, the U.S. warship Vincennes shot down an Iranian airliner, killing all 290 aboard, in what Washington said was an accident and Tehran said was a deliberate attack
– In early 2008, the United States said Iranian vessels threatened three U.S. Navy ships in the Strait
– In July 2010, Japanese oil tanker M Star was attacked in the Strait by a militant group called Abdullah Azzam Brigades linked to al Qaeda claiming responsibility
– In January 2012, Iran threatened to block the Strait in retaliation for U.S. and European sanctions that targeted its oil revenue in an attempt to stop Tehran’s nuclear programme
– In May 2015, Iranian ships seized a container ship in the Strait and fired shots at a Singapore-flagged tanker which it said damaged an Iranian oil platform
– In July 2018, President Hassan Rouhani hinted Iran could disrupt oil trade through the Strait in response to U.S. calls to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero
– In May 2019, four vessels – including two Saudi oil tankers – were attacked off the UAE coast near Fujairah, one of the world’s largest bunkering hubs, just outside the Strait of Hormuz
– In January 2021, Iran seized a South Korean-flagged tanker in Gulf waters and detained its crew
Source: Reuters
