U.S. military escorts tankers through Strait of Hormuz

2 min readUpdated June 25, 2026

President Donald Trump this week disclosed a U.S. military operation using aircraft, drones, and autonomous vehicles to escort commercial tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming the effort had moved more than 100 million barrels of Gulf Arab crude oil to market since the start of the war with Iran.

In online posts, Trump put the figure at more than 100 million barrels and said over 200 ships had made the transit under what he termed a "secret mission," declaring that the U.S. — not Iran — now holds control of the waterway, according to The Associated Press. Commodities data firm Kpler had independently logged around 96 million barrels of non-Iranian crude leaving the region since early May; once shipments still being loaded were factored in, a Kpler analyst told the AP the total would surpass 100 million barrels, a number she described as "broadly consistent with Trump's claim."

According to the Guardian, Lloyd's List editor-in-chief Richard Meade characterized what the U.S. has been doing as overwatch — deploying drones, aircraft, and autonomous vessels to accompany tankers through the strait's southern corridor near Oman's coastline. After clearing the strait, those tankers offload their cargo to other ships waiting in the Gulf of Oman, then run the strait again empty to pick up fresh loads at Gulf ports, Meade said.

Despite the operation, total oil flows remain well below pre-war levels. Lloyd's List data cited by the Guardian illustrates how sharply traffic has fallen: where 138 ships a day once moved through the waterway, the entire month of March saw only about that many crossings in total. The 15.6 million barrels per day that once moved through the waterway have not been restored, according to the AP.

Pressure on Iran's oil industry is mounting as well. According to the AP, Wood Mackenzie puts the drop in Iranian production at 800,000 barrels per day since the blockade took effect, while onshore crude inventories have climbed to an estimated 69 million barrels.

Update, June 25, 2026: A Liberian-flagged tanker, the Stoic Warrior, has sailed through the Strait of Hormuz along a U.N.-recommended route near Oman, marking a sign that traffic flows are beginning to recover. The International Maritime Organization separately announced a plan to evacuate 11,000 seafarers from the region. (per NBC News)

U.S. military escorts tankers through Hormuz in operation Trump calls 'secret mission'

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