The Strait of Hormuz is a Narrow

7/31/2019 The Strait of Hormuz is a Narrow

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The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow, strategically important strait between the

Gulf of Oman in the southeast and the Persian Gulf. On the north coast is

Iran and on the south coast is the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, an

exclave of Oman.

The strait at its narrowest is 21 nautical miles (39 km) wide.[1] It is the onlysea passage to the open ocean for large areas of the petroleum-exporting

Persian Gulf and is one of the world's most strategically important choke

points. Around 20% of the world's oil, which is about 35% of seaborne

traded oil, passes through the strait.[1]

The opening to the Persian Gulf was described, but not given a name, in the

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a 1st-century mariner's guide:

"At the upper end of these Calaei islands is a range of mountains called

Calon, and there follows not far beyond, the mouth of the Persian Gulf,

where there is much diving for the pearl-mussel. To the left of the straits

are great mountains called Asabon, and to the right there rises in full view

another round and high mountain called Semiramis; between them the

passage across the strait is about six hundred stadia; beyond which that

very great and broad sea, the Persian Gulf, reaches far into the interior. At

the upper end of this gulf there is a market-town designated by law called

Apologus, situated near Charaex Spasini and the River Euphrates."

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Chapter 35

In the 10th to 17th centuries AD, the Kingdom of Ormus, which seems to

have given the strait its name, was located here. Scholars, historians and

linguists derive[2][dead link] the name "Ormuz" from the local Persian word

Hur-mogh meaning date palm.[3][dubious discuss] In the local

dialects of Hurmoz and Minab this strait is still called Hurmogh and has the

aforementioned meaning.[citation needed] The resemblance of this word

with the name of the Persian God Hormoz (a variant of Ahura Mazda)

has resulted in the popular belief[citation needed][neutrality is disputed]

that these words are related.

Ships moving through the Strait follow a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS),which separates inbound from outbound traffic to reduce the risk of

collision. The traffic lane is six miles (10 km) wide, including two two-mile (3

km)-wide traffic lanes, one inbound and one outbound, separated by a two-

mile (3 km) wide separation median.

To traverse the Strait, ships pass through the territorial waters of Iran and

Oman under the transit passage provisions of the United Nations

Convention on the Law of the Sea.[4] Although not all countries have

ratified the convention,[5] most countries, including the U.S.,[6] accept

these customary navigation rules as codified in the Convention. Oman has a


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radar site Link Quality Indicator (LQI) to monitor the TSS in the strait of

Hormuz. This site is on a small island on the peak of Musandam Peninsula.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, on an average day

in 2011, about 14 tankers carrying 17 million barrels (2,700,000 m3) ofcrude oil passed out of the Persian Gulf through the Strait. This was said to

represent 35% of the world's seaborne oil shipments, and 20% of oil traded

worldwide. The report stated that more than 85 percent of these crude oil

exports went to Asian markets, with Japan, India, South Korea and China

the largest destinations.[1]

A 2007 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies also

stated that 17 million barrels passed out of the Gulf daily, but that oil flows

through the Strait accounted for roughly 40% of all world-traded oil[7]

On 18 April 1988, the U.S. Navy waged a one-day battle against Iranian

forces in and around the strait. The battle, dubbed Operation Praying

Mantis by the U.S. side, was launched in retaliation for the 14 April mining

of the USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) by Iran. U.S. forces sank one frigate,

one gunboat, and as many as six armed speedboats in the engagement and

seriously damaged a second frigate.

The downing of Iran Air 655

Main article: Iran Air Flight 655

On 3 July 1988, 290 people were killed when an Iran Air Airbus A300

passenger jet was shot down over the strait by the United States Navy

guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes in a case of mistaken identity.

[edit]Collision between USS Newport News and tanker Mogamigawa

On 8 January 2007, the nuclear submarine USS Newport News, traveling

submerged, struck M/V Mogamigawa, a 300,000-ton Japanese-flagged very

large crude tanker, south of the strait.[8] There were no injuries, and no oil

leaked from the tanker.

[edit]Tensions in 2008

[edit]2008 US-Iranian naval disputeMain article: 2008 US-Iranian naval dispute

A series of naval stand-offs between Iranian speedboats and U.S. warships

in the Strait of Hormuz occurred in December 2007 and January 2008. U.S.

officials accused Iran of harassing and provoking their naval vessels; Iranian

officials denied these allegations. On 14 January 2008, U.S. naval officials

appeared to contradict the Pentagon version of the 16 January event, in

which U.S. officials said U.S. vessels were near to firing on approaching

Iranian boats. The Navy's regional commander, Vice Admiral Kevin Cosgriff,

said the Iranians had "neither anti-ship missiles nor torpedoes" and that he


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"wouldn't characterize the posture of the US 5th Fleet as afraid of these

small boats".[9]

[edit]Iranian defence policy

On 29 June 2008, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Ali

Mohammed Jafari, said that if Iran were attacked by Israel or the UnitedStates, it would seal off the Strait of Hormuz, to wreak havoc in oil markets.

This statement followed other more ambiguous threats from Iran's oil

minister and other government officials that a Western attack on Iran would

result in turmoil in oil supply.

In response, Vice Admiral Kevin Cosgriff, commander of the U.S. 5th Fleet

stationed in Bahrain across the Persian Gulf from Iran, warned that such an

action by Iran would be considered an act of war, and that the U.S. would

not allow Iran to effectively hold hostage nearly a third of the world's oil

supply.[10]

On 8 July 2008, Ali Shirazi, a mid-level clerical aide to Iran's Supreme

Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted by the student news agency

ISNA as saying to Revolutionary Guards, "The Zionist regime is pressuring

White House officials to attack Iran. If they commit such a stupidity, Tel Aviv

and U.S. shipping in the Persian Gulf will be Iran's first targets and they will

be burned."[11]

[edit]Naval activity in 2008

In the last week of July 2008, in the Operation Brimstone,[12] dozens of U.S.

and foreign navy ships came to off the eastern coast in the U.S., to undergo

joint exercises for possible military activity in the shallow waters off the

coast of Iran.

As of 11 August 2008, more than 40 U.S. and allied ships reportedly were

en route to the Strait of Hormuz. One U.S. carrier battle group from Japan

would complement two more, which are already in the Persian Gulf, for a

total of five battle groups, not counting submarines.[13]

[edit]Collision between USS Hartford and USS New Orleans

Main article: USS Hartford and USS New Orleans collision

Wikinews has related news: Two US Navy vessels collide in the Strait

of Hormuz; 15 lightly injuredOn 20 March 2009, United States Navy Los Angeles-class submarine USS

Hartford (SSN-768) collided with the San Antonio-class amphibious

transport dock USS New Orleans (LPD-18) in the strait. The collision, which

slightly injured 15 sailors aboard the Hartford, ruptured a fuel tank aboard

the New Orleans, spilling 25,000 US gallons (95 m3) of marine diesel fuel.

[14]

[edit]Tensions in 20112012

Main article: 201112 Strait of Hormuz dispute

On 27 December 2011, Iranian Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimithreatened to cut off oil supply from the Strait of Hormuz should economic


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sanctions limit, or cut off, Iranian oil exports.[15] A U.S. Fifth Fleet

spokeswoman said in response that the Fleet was "always ready to counter

malevolent actions", whilst Admiral Habibollah Sayari of the Iranian navy

claimed that cutting off oil shipments would be "easy".[16] Despite an initial

2% rise in oil prices, oil markets ultimately did not react significantly to theIranian threat, with oil analyst Thorbjoern Bak Jensen of Global Risk

Management concluding that "they cannot stop the flow for a longer period

due to the amount of U.S. hardware in the area".[17]

On 3 January 2012, Iran threatened to take action if the U.S. Navy moves an

aircraft carrier back into the Persian Gulf. Iranian Army chief Ataollah Salehi

said the United States had moved an aircraft carrier out of the Gulf because

of Iran's naval exercises, and Iran would take action if the ship returned.

"Iran will not repeat its warning...the enemy's carrier has been moved to

the Gulf of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasize to the

American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf", he said.[18]

The U.S. Navy spokesman Commander Bill Speaks quickly responded that

deployment of U.S. military assets would continue as has been the custom

stating: "The U.S. Navy operates under international maritime conventions

to maintain a constant state of high vigilance in order to ensure the

continued, safe flow of maritime traffic in waterways critical to global

commerce."[19]

While earlier statements from Iran had little effect on global oil markets,

coupled with the new sanctions, these terse comments from Iran are driving

crude futures higher, up over 4%.[citation needed] Pressure on prices

reflect a combination of uncertainty driven further by Chinas recent

response reducing oil January 2012 purchases from Iran by 50%

compared to those made in 2011.[citation needed]

The U.S. led sanctions may be beginning to bite as Iranian currency has

recently lost some 12% of its value. Further pressure on Iranian currency

was added by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Tuesday calling for

"stricter sanctions" and urged EU countries to follow the US in freezing

Iranian central bank assets and imposing an embargo on oil exports.[20]

On 7 January 2012, the United Kingdom announced that it would be sendingthe Type 45 destroyer HMS Daring to the Persian Gulf. Daring, which is the

lead ship of her class is claimed to be one of the "most advanced warships"

in the world, and will undertake its first mission in the Persian Gulf.[21] The

British Government however have said that this move has been long-

planned, as Daring will replace another Armilla patrol frigate.[22]

On 9 January 2012, Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi denied that Iran

had ever claimed that it would close the Strait of Hormuz, saying that "the

Islamic Republic of Iran is the most important provider of security in the

strait...if one threatens the security of the Persian Gulf, then all arethreatened."[23]


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The Iranian Foreign Ministry confirmed on 16 January 2012 that it has

received a letter from the United States concerning the Strait of Hormuz,

via three different channels. Authorities were considering whether to

reply, although the contents of the letter were not divulged.[24] The US had

previously announced its intention to warn Iran that closing the Strait ofHormuz is a red line that would provoke an American response.[25] Gen.

Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said this past

weekend that the United States would take action and reopen the strait,

which could be accomplished only by military means, including

minesweepers, warship escorts and potentially airstrikes. Defense

Secretary Leon E. Panetta told troops in Texas on Thursday that the United

States would not tolerate Irans closing of the strait. Nevertheless Iran

continued to discuss the impact of shutting the Strait on world oil markets,

saying that any disruption of supply would cause a shock to markets that

no country could manage.[26]

By 23 January, a flotilla had been established by countries opposing Iran's

threats to close the Hormuz Strait.[27] These ships operated in the Persian

Gulf and Arabian Sea off the coast of Iran. The flotilla included two

American aircraft carriers (the USS Carl Vinson and USS Abraham Lincoln)

and three destroyers (USS Momsen, USS Sterett, USS Halsey), seven British

warships, including the destroyer HMS Daring and a number of Type 23

frigates (HMS Westminster, HMS Argyll, HMS Somerset and HMS St Albans),

and a French warship.[28]

On 24 January tensions rose further after the European Union imposed

sanctions on Iranian oil. A senior member of Iran's parliament said that the

Islamic Republic would close the entry point to the Gulf if new sanctions

block its oil exports.[29] "If any disruption happens regarding the sale of

Iranian oil, the Strait of Hormuz will definitely be closed," Mohammad

Kossari, deputy head of parliament's foreign affairs and national security

committee, told the semi-official Fars News Agency.

[edit]Ability of Iran to hinder shipping

The Millennium Challenge 2002 was to simulate an attempt by Iran to closethe strait. The assumptions and results were controversial.[30]

A 2008 article in International Security contended that Iran could seal off or

impede traffic in the Strait for a month, and an attempt by the U.S. to

reopen it would be likely to escalate the conflict.[31] In a later issue,

however, the journal published a response which questioned some key

assumptions and suggested a much shorter timeline for re-opening.[32]

In December 2011 Iran's navy began a 10-day exercise in international

waters near the strait. The Iranian Navy Commander, Rear Admiral

Habibollah Sayyari, stated that the strait would not be closed during the


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exercise; Iranian forces could easily accomplish that but such a decision

must be made at a political level.[33][34]

Captain John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, was quoted in a December

2011 Reuters article: "Efforts to increase tension in that part of the world

are unhelpful and counter-productive. For our part, we are comfortable thatwe have in the region sufficient capabilities to honor our commitments to

our friends and partners, as well as the international community." In the

same article, Suzanne Maloney, an Iran expert at the Brookings Institution,

said, "The expectation is that the U.S. military could address any Iranian

threat relatively quickly."[35]

General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in

January 2012 that Iran has invested in capabilities that could, in fact, for a

period of time block the Strait of Hormuz. He also stated, Weve invested

in capabilities to ensure that if that happens, we can defeat that.[36]

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The Strait of Hormuz is a Narrow