Overview
- Oil topped $100 a barrel as carriers and insurers kept most traffic out of the Strait of Hormuz, with reports of more than 1,000 vessels queued and war‑risk cover sharply curtailed.
- President Donald Trump told Fox News that tankers should transit the strait, asserting Iran's capabilities have been degraded, even as major firms hesitate to move without guarantees.
- The U.S. is advancing a $20 billion maritime reinsurance plan and refining options for Navy escorts, but a broad escort operation has not begun and G7 officials held off on releasing strategic reserves.
- China renewed calls to restore tanker flows and said it would take necessary steps to safeguard its energy security, with dozens of Chinese‑flagged ships reported waiting near the chokepoint.
- Regional attacks on tankers and energy sites, along with force majeure and output cuts in the Gulf, have compounded supply risks as analysts warn escorts would face mines, drones and shore‑based missiles.