The Strait of Hormuz could open soon. But will it be safe for ships?
6/16/20268 min
President Trump and Iran say an agreement has been reached to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The waterway is critical to global trade, especially oil -- and the blockades imposed on it have shocked energy markets, exacerbating inflation in the US.
But even if the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, will shipping companies feel safe to pass through it, given that sea mines could make their operations dangerous?
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This episode was produced by Erika Ryan and Chris Harland-Dunaway.
It was edited by Sarah Handel and Tinbete Ermyas.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAilsa Chang· Host0:00
It's Consider This, where every day we go deep on one big news story. Today, what will it take for oil to start flowing again? President Trump and Iran say an agreement has been reached to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. It is said to be formally signed on Friday in Switzerland.
Donald Trump· Soundbite0:18
I think, uh, a lot of great things are gonna happen in the Middle East right now, and very importantly, the oil is plummeting down and the stock market is shooting up like a rocket.
Ailsa Chang· Host0:30
That was President Trump speaking at the G7 meeting on Monday. The ongoing Iran war has sent oil prices soaring and has exacerbated inflation in the US. A lot of that economic pressure is from the near total closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the war began almost four months ago.
Donald Trump· Soundbite0:49
The Iran deal that we made is gonna bring a lot of, uh, a lot of success to the world because the oil was really clogged up there for a while.
Ailsa Chang· Host0:58
Before the war, roughly a fifth of the world's oil traveled through the Strait of Hormuz. Now, the traffic is way below that, in part because of blockades put in place by Iran and the US. But even if a deal ends those blockades, there's another major issue, safety. One major risk is the possibility of sea mines. Here's retired US Navy Admiral James Stavridis on CNN in April.
James Stavridis· Soundbite1:24
If I'm the master, the captain of a big, uh, 200,000 ton oil