Oil Slick Stuff

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I’m watching them- it looks like a small, steady stream of a variety of both cargo and oil tanker, and LPG ships are in a single line, at 10.5 knots, and then disappear off the AIS system as they approach the straight. So some traffic is flowing, at night, in the dark, when they can’t easily be remotely tracked.

I do not yet see any reappearing on the other end, I’ll try and find one that does, and see how long they are in the dark zone.

We have no idea, of course, if anything is being intercepted in the middle.
 

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P.S.- yep- a little string of ants all following the line. At 10.5 knots. Definitely some traffic is moving.

Oh, and two great big Chinese registered cargo ships just kind of plowed their own way through to n the last hour, without regard to anyone else. China is not hesitating to go.
 
James48843 said:
P.S.- yep- a little string of ants all following the line. At 10.5 knots. Definitely some traffic is moving.

Oh, and two great big Chinese registered cargo ships just kind of plowed their own way through to n the last hour, without regard to anyone else. China is not hesitating to go.
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With the AIS systems off and in very dark waters I hope the Chinese ships don't run into another ship.
 
Interesting.

It turns out that the U.S. Energy Secretary who said the U.S. Navy escorted a tanker this morning was wrong. He just apparently is just incompetent to even know what his own Navy is doing.

See this story-

Oil retreats even after Energy Secretary wrongly claims Navy escorted tanker through Strait of Hormuz​

Source: CNBC

Oil prices retreated Tuesday, even after Secretary of Energy Chris Wright wrongly claimed in a social media post that the U.S. Navy had escorted a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz.

“The U.S. Navy has not escorted a tanker or a vessel at this time,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday.

U.S. crude oil fell 11.94% to close at $83.45 per barrel. Brent crude , the global benchmark, lost 11.28% to settle at $87.80. Prices fell more than 17% immediately after Wright’s post.
...
Wright had said “the U.S. Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure oil remains flowing to global markets.”

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/10/crude-oil-prices-today-iran-war.html
 
I thought i saw a report that Iran is allowing any ships to pass through that are not American, Israeli, or European.

I've yet to see a report of a ship from one of those places get through since this started. It also means that any other ship going through probably doesn't need an American escort.
 

Oil Supply Risks Mount as Iran Lays Mines in Strait of Hormuz​

By Tom Kool - Mar 10, 2026, 2:37 PM CDT
Satellite footage of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz

Iran has begun laying naval mines in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, according to two people familiar with U.S. intelligence reporting, in what analysts warn could extend the effective blockade of the world's most critical energy chokepoint and deepen disruption to global oil flows.

The mining activity - currently limited to a few dozen mines laid in recent days - represents an escalation in Iran's campaign to assert control over the narrow waterway, sources said. Tehran still possesses roughly 80%-90% of its small naval vessels and mine-laying craft, enabling it to potentially deploy hundreds more mines if it chooses, CNN reported.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), now sharing control of the strait with the regular navy, has a range of asymmetric capabilities, including scattered mine-laying craft, explosive-laden boats and shore-based missile batteries, giving it the ability to create a complex array of threats to passing vessels. The IRGC has previously warned that any ship attempting to transit the Strait will be attacked, effectively rendering the passage a "death valley" for commercial mariners in the current war environment.

More:
oilprice.com

Oil Supply Risks Mount as Iran Lays Mines in Strait of Hormuz | OilPrice.com

Iran has begun laying naval mines in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, according to two people familiar with U.S. intelligence reporting
oilprice.com oilprice.com
 
James48843 said:

Oil Supply Risks Mount as Iran Lays Mines in Strait of Hormuz​

By Tom Kool - Mar 10, 2026, 2:37 PM CDT
Satellite footage of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz

Iran has begun laying naval mines in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, according to two people familiar with U.S. intelligence reporting, in what analysts warn could extend the effective blockade of the world's most critical energy chokepoint and deepen disruption to global oil flows.

The mining activity - currently limited to a few dozen mines laid in recent days - represents an escalation in Iran's campaign to assert control over the narrow waterway, sources said. Tehran still possesses roughly 80%-90% of its small naval vessels and mine-laying craft, enabling it to potentially deploy hundreds more mines if it chooses, CNN reported.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), now sharing control of the strait with the regular navy, has a range of asymmetric capabilities, including scattered mine-laying craft, explosive-laden boats and shore-based missile batteries, giving it the ability to create a complex array of threats to passing vessels. The IRGC has previously warned that any ship attempting to transit the Strait will be attacked, effectively rendering the passage a "death valley" for commercial mariners in the current war environment.

More:
oilprice.com

Oil Supply Risks Mount as Iran Lays Mines in Strait of Hormuz | OilPrice.com

Iran has begun laying naval mines in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, according to two people familiar with U.S. intelligence reporting
oilprice.com oilprice.com
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P.S.-
We just got rid of the very last four U.S. Navy Minesweepers at the end of January. They are gone.

We didn’t buy any new minesweepers. Apparently our Navy planners have been spending all the navy money on pretty new Submarines and Aircraft carriers, and not any minesweepers. Maybe planning for the new, big beautiful battleship the President wants…
 

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The saying in the Navy was any ship can be a mindsweeper at least once... goes the same for being a submarine.

The old gas light came on finally in my little daily driver on my way home from work, had to stop to fill up. My rural station near my house was up to $3.37 yesterday.
 
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