US launches insurance program for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said that an insurance program aimed at encouraging the passage of tankers through the Strait of Hormuz will soon be launched, which will help restore a significant part of the world’s oil and gas supplies, Bloomberg reports.

“The oil market is well-secured. We have taken measures to ensure that oil that is stuck at sea is available to the world market,” Bessant said.

According to him, bold actions by US President Donald Trump, such as the International Development Finance Corporation’s marine reinsurance program in conjunction with the Central Command, will soon provide shippers through the Persian Gulf region with “a level of security that we have never seen before.”

Bessant claims that tanker traffic in the Persian Gulf region is starting to increase, and will continue to increase in the coming days.

“Today we are starting to see more and more traffic in and out of the Persian Gulf, and this is more than yesterday, and this is just the beginning. I am confident that the traffic will continue to grow every day, even before we secure the straits,” the US Treasury Secretary is convinced.

Bloomberg recalls that commercial tankers have largely avoided the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the Israeli-American war against Iran.

Since the beginning of the conflict, only a few ships have passed through the strait, with one Indian tanker carrying liquefied natural gas crossing it on the instructions of the Iranian Navy after diplomatic talks between Tehran and New Delhi.

Earlier it was reported that Iran is charging ships for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, establishing new shipping rules. The amounts are up to $2 million per tanker amid escalating tensions in the region.

On March 24, Iran informed the UN and the International Maritime Organization that “hostile” vessels could pass through the Strait of Hormuz, but only after coordinating their actions with Tehran.

Tags: insurance, Hormuz, USA