(May 29): Several vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz have been attacked in recent days, underscoring the “very real” risks that remain for shipowners in the Persian Gulf whether or not a peace accord is signed, Chevron Corp chief executive officer Mike Wirth said.
“There still has been kinetic activity this week, some of which has been reported in the media — some of which has not,” Wirth said on Bloomberg TV on Friday. “We see risks very real still in that environment.”
Asked to clarify what had not yet been reported, Wirth said several ships had been attacked.
“There have been vessels that have been in transit that have suffered attacks,” he said. “They are maybe not every day, but there have been multiple incidents that have occurred.”
Chevron would not consider paying a toll to move ships through the Strait of Hormuz, Wirth said. The company currently has six vessels in the Persian Gulf waterway that are under charter, meaning they belong to a third party. It will be the ship owner who decides whether or not to move through the strait, Wirth said.
It means that shipowners and their insurers will have to feel comfortable that passage is safe for oil to begin moving again, whether or not the US and Iran reach a peace deal in the coming days. They will also have to be willing to send ships back into the strait for trade to get back to normal, Wirth said.
See also: Oil edges lower on tentative deal to extend US-Iranian truce
“Shipowners have to be comfortable sending ships back in after having ships trapped for months and crews trapped for months,” he said. “They may or may not be willing to move all of their vessels back in.”
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