Several ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz have faced attacks recently, highlighting ongoing risks for shipowners in the Persian Gulf, regardless of any potential peace agreement, according to Chevron's CEO Mike...
Several ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz have faced attacks recently, highlighting ongoing risks for shipowners in the Persian Gulf, regardless of any potential peace agreement, according to Chevron's CEO Mike Wirth.
“There has been activity this week, some of which has been reported and some that hasn’t,” Wirth mentioned during an appearance on Bloomberg TV on Friday. “The risks in that region are still very real.”
When prompted to elaborate on the unreported incidents, Wirth explained that several ships have indeed been attacked. “There have been vessels in transit that have suffered attacks. They don’t occur every day, but there have been multiple incidents,” he stated.
Wirth also noted that Chevron is not considering paying tolls to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The company has six vessels currently chartered in the Persian Gulf, indicating they belong to third-party owners. He explained that it is the ship owners who will decide whether to navigate through the strait.
This situation implies that ship owners and their insurers need to feel confident about the safety of passing through the strait before oil shipments can resume, regardless of whether a US-Iran peace agreement is reached soon. They will also have to be willing to send ships back into the strait to restore normal trade, Wirth added.
“Ship owners must feel secure enough to send their vessels back after having many ships and crews stuck for extended periods,” he commented. “They may not be ready to return all of their vessels just yet.”