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The new battleground in the Gulf isn’t just on the water — it’s in the insurance market, where war-risk coverage can determine which oil tankers sail and which stay put.
With the conflict driving gasoline prices higher, the White House is weighing steps to keep oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz and to keep prices from climbing further.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage between Iran and Oman, carries roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day and about one-fifth of global supply of liquefied natural gas. When conflict flares in the region, even the threat of disruption can rattle markets because so much of the world’s energy moves through that single corridor.
A satellite image shows the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, vital for global energy supply. (Amanda Macias/Fox News Digital)
And with so much at stake, the White House is turning to an unlikely tool: insurance.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. could use a government-backed insurance program to lower war-risk premiums for vessels in the region. Under a backstop, the government would absorb part of any major losses, easing pressure on private insurers and shipowners.
Because when danger rises, the bill rises.
Insurers charge more to cover ships and cargo, shippers add “war-risk” surcharges and some vessels slow down, detour or pause altogether. Those delays can tighten supply and push crude prices higher even if oil production hasn’t changed.
Against that backdrop, the latest disruption, sparked by U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 27 and retaliatory Iranian drone and missile attacks across the region, is forcing shippers and insurers to rethink whether it’s safe to transit the waterway.
NEW SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW FIRES, NAVAL BASE DAMAGE ACROSS IRAN AFTER US-ISRAELI STRIKES
Few places on the planet matter more to the global energy economy than the Strait of Hormuz. (Patrick T….
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