Global Oil Shipments Depend On Major Chokepoints

The U.S. military is building up its presence at the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman as a reaction to what the Pentagon has described as “an alarming number of recent events in the Strait of Hormuz". Concretely, the deployment of F-35 fighters, additional F-16s and a missile guided destroyer is a direct response to Iran's attempts to seize oil tankers passing through the Strait.

As described by Air & Space Forces Magazine: "Earlier this month, Iran sought to seize two commercial oil tankers and fired on one of them before abandoning the attempt when an American guided missile destroyer, the USS McFaul, arrived on the scene". Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters on Monday that “In light of this continued threat and in coordination with our partners and allies, the department is increasing our presence and ability to monitor the Strait and surrounding waters”.

As this infographic illustrates, the Strait of Hormuz is of critical importance to the flow of oil around the world. In 2018, the latest available and comparable figures, a daily average of 16.8 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait, accounting for more than 30 percent of all seaborne oil transits and making it one of the biggest chokepoints for the global supply of oil.