US Restricts Air Defence Window for Tankers in Strait of Hormuz
Washington has narrowed the daily window for air-based protection of tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz to two time slots, following increased attacks on ships sailing at night.
The United States has narrowed the daily window during which it provides air-based protection to tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, asking vessels to sail only at fixed times, according to an account of the arrangement.
Washington has extended air cover since May to ships choosing a route that hugs the Omani coast along the southern side of the strait. That protection schedule was reduced to two specific time slots each day around the beginning of September.
The change was communicated through emails sent by the US naval coordination centre to maritime advisers, the account said. It follows a rise in attacks on ships travelling through the waterway at night.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical conduit for global energy shipments, and the timing restrictions effectively require tankers seeking military cover to adjust their transit schedules to the two designated windows.
There was no immediate detail on how long the revised arrangement would remain in place or on the precise hours of the daily slots.