U.S. Navy Can't Escort Oil Ships Yet as Strait of Hormuz Shipping Collapses 96%

What Happened

On February 28, 2026, military strikes on Iran triggered a crisis at the Strait of Hormuz — a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that normally carries roughly 138 oil tankers every day. Within days, shipping traffic dropped 96% to fewer than 5 ships daily.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC on March 12 that the U.S. Navy is "simply not ready" to escort oil tankers through the strait, though he expects the military to be ready by the end of March. The Navy has reportedly been turning down requests from shipping companies almost daily since the conflict began.

On March 10, Wright posted on social media claiming the Navy had successfully escorted a tanker through the strait. The White House quickly deleted the post and called it false — no tanker escorts have happened.

Meanwhile, France, Britain, Germany, and Italy have announced they're setting up their own escort operations, and Pakistan has started sending warships to protect tankers.

Why It Matters

This affects your wallet in several ways:

Oil prices are spiking. Brent crude (the global oil benchmark) hit $101.59 per barrel on March 12 — up 10% in one day. Higher oil means higher gas prices, heating costs, and prices on everyday goods that need to be shipped.

Governments are releasing emergency reserves. The International Energy Agency announced that 32 countries will release a record 400 million barrels from emergency stockpiles. The U.S. is releasing 172 million barrels over the next four months. This is meant to stabilize prices by flooding the market with supply.

Energy stocks and shipping companies are volatile. Oil companies (like Suncor Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus) and shipping firms are seeing wild price swings. Shipping costs for oil tankers have jumped from $50,000 per day to over $400,000 per day in some cases.

This is temporary, but uncertain. The U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) forecasts oil will stay above $95 per barrel for the next two months, then fall as the situation stabilizes — but that depends on how long the conflict lasts.

What to Watch

• End of March deadline. The U.S. said it expects to be ready to escort tankers by late March. If that happens on schedule, it could calm markets. If it doesn't, oil prices could spike again.
• Storage limits. JPMorgan warned that oil-producing countries in the Gulf might run out of storage space, forcing production cuts and potentially pushing oil to $120 per barrel.
• Reserve release impact. Watch whether the emergency oil releases actually bring prices down or if the crisis is too severe to be offset by supply.
• European and Pakistani escort missions. Monitor whether these alternative protection efforts succeed or run into problems.