CENTCOM's Commander Conducts an Inspection Flight in Strait of Hormuz
In a demonstration of confidence in the control Central Command exercises over the Strait of Hormuz, Commander CENTCOM Admiral Brad Cooper has made a low-flying tour of the Strait of Hormuz in a US Army Chinook helicopter.
Accompanied by an attack helicopter, Admiral Cooper was seen overflying two unladen vessels. The VLCC tanker and a bulk carrier were both beyond firm identification. But in the case of each vessel, there was hilly terrain off the starboard bow, which matches the look of the coastline between Limah and Dibba Al Fujairah in the eastern Strait of Hormuz approaches. In the same press release, Admiral Cooper was also pictured addressing a large gathering of US Marines in what appeared to be a shore facility, and who are believed to be involved in mine clearance operations.
The VLCC bears some similarity to the Saudi-flagged and Bahri-owned Samha (IMO 98584500), which on October 24 was off Galle in Sri Lanka and heading for Singapore. This suggests that the vessel was either not the Samha, or that Admiral Cooper’s Strait of Hormuz visit took place about a week ago.
This US self-assuredness, in stark contrast to the unwillingness of the Iranian Supreme Leader to appear in public since his appointment, with be felt as a humiliation by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who persist in claiming ownership and control of both sides of the Strait of Hormuz.
The IRGC has stepped up its attacks on shipping in the Strait in recent weeks, but these attacks do not appear to have diminished the flow of vessels through the Strait. Admiral Cooper stated during his visit that “primary transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz remain free and clear of Iranian sea mines.” Whilst IRGC reports of attacks are widely disseminated, only a small proportion are reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre, and it is not clear how effective these attacks are in either causing damage or forcing ships to turn back.
No merchant sailors have been killed in the Strait in October, whereas in September five died. Twelve sailors were injured on October 5 when a projectile hit the Panama-flagged tanker On Peace (IMO 9893204). CENTCOM claim that 95% of vessels are making safe transits.
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The number of ships which successfully complete transits is not showing up on any reliable open source data base, which in part explains why Kpler and Airbus are cooperating on developing a new means for detecting movements using satellite imagery, for the benefit of commodity traders trying to fix prices based on volumes.
