US Says More Than 1.5 Billion Barrels of Oil Shipped Through Strait of Hormuz

US forces have helped Gulf countries export more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz since the summer, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday. CENTCOM chief Admiral Brad Cooper visited the strategically important waterway that day.

According to CENTCOM, more than 3,000 commercial vessels have transited the Strait of Hormuz with assistance from the US military over the past six months.

Cooper inspected ongoing operations aboard a US Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter. During the visit, he also met service members involved in mine-clearing operations at sea.

Cooper said the United States remained committed to ensuring freedom of navigation and maintaining cooperation with Gulf countries and the maritime industry.

CENTCOM said US forces had cleared international shipping routes by removing naval mines allegedly laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Cooper claimed that no Iranian mines remained in the main shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz. The US military is working with government agencies, Gulf Cooperation Council member states and shipping companies to help maintain normal commercial maritime traffic, CENTCOM said.

According to CENTCOM, more than 95 per cent of vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz in recent months have passed through safely. The US military command described the IRGC’s activities as “unprovoked aggression.”