Commentary: Even the world’s most powerful navy cannot simply restore safe passage in the Strait of Hormuz

President Trump’s Project Freedom to shepherd tankers through the Strait of Hormuz lasted exactly two days and two vessels before Washington suspended it on May 5. More than 40 merchant ships have already been attacked or harassed by Iranian forces since the conflict began, yet the world’s most powerful navy walked away rather than commit to sustained escorts. The episode reveals a hard limit on naval power that neither Trump’s initial boasts nor Tehran’s threats fully acknowledged.

Geography hands Iran the advantage. Positioned along the northern shore of the Persian Gulf, the strait, and the Gulf of Oman, Iranian forces can launch cheap cruise missiles, drones, and swarms of small boats with almost no warning. A single US destroyer, even backed by air power, can realistically shield only two or three unarmed merchant vessels at a time. Replenishing missiles at sea is impossible, crews fatigue quickly, and any prolonged operation would demand marine raids on Revolutionary Guard launch sites along the coast or on Iranian-held islands.

The Pentagon has already told lawmakers that clearing Iranian mines from the normal transit route could take up to six months. Tehran has added its own “Persian Gulf Strait Authority” to collect a unilateral toll on ships passing through what it claims as its waters. The cumulative effect has slashed traffic through a chokepoint that normally sees 130 vessels per day and carries roughly 20 percent of global oil supply. Shipowners, insurers, and crews simply do not believe the route is safe.

Trump called on allies including Japan and Australia to join escort operations; they declined. Even the limited Project Freedom, which involved destroyers, more than 100 aircraft, and 15,000 personnel, proved too risky for regional partners. Saudi Arabia refused US access to its airspace and bases, apparently fearing rapid escalation. Iran had warned that any foreign warship escorting commercial traffic would be treated as a hostile actor.

Lost in the signaling is the human cost: more than 20,000 seafarers now stranded inside the Gulf with no protected corridor out. A narrow, defended lane could have let many escape, yet that option has vanished. The suspension of Project Freedom has only deepened commercial distrust and cast doubt on American staying power.

Warships can reduce risk and offer temporary reassurance. They cannot magically restore insurer confidence or normal commercial volumes in a contested chokepoint where the defender holds the cheap, asymmetric tools. The Strait of Hormuz is teaching that lesson in real time.

Original reporting: CNA.