Shipowners Grapple for Hormuz Fixes After Trump Drops Plan (1)

The suspension of a short-lived US plan to guide vessels through the Strait of Hormuz has underscored the difficulty of securing the narrow waterway and left shipowners grappling for credible workarounds.

Trump announced ‘Project Freedom’ late on Sunday as a means of breaking Tehran’s chokehold on the waterway, adding to a US blockade introduced last month. He shelved the plan just days later. During the time it was in effect, Iran expanded its area of control, announced a new protocol for vessels seeking to transit the waterway, and attacked ships.

Hormuz has been virtually empty for days, and sporadic ...