Shipping bosses nervous over Trump plan to guide vessels from strait of Hormuz

The US has launched an operation to “guide” ships trapped in the Gulf by the Iran war through a southern route of the strait of Hormuz, even as Tehran insists that any such transits will have to be coordinated with its armed forces. The scheme was announced as “Project Freedom” on Sunday night by Donald Trump on his social media page, where he portrayed it as a humanitarian gesture to help crews on hundreds of ships which have been unable to leave the Gulf since the war began. Shipping executives have responded cautiously to the move, amid uncertainty over how or if it would work. US officials were quoted in press reports as saying the operation would not involve naval escorts. US Central Command said it would “support” the project with its considerable military resources in the region, including guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 land- and sea-based aircraft, drones and 15,000 troops. But it said the emphasis of the mission was to “combine diplomatic action with military coordination”. On Monday morning, a US-led military organisation, the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), said the US had established an “enhanced security area” south of the established prewar shipping lanes through the strait. The route would take ships through Omani territorial waters, the JMIC said, and due to high anticipated traffic, ship operators were told to coordinate with Omani authorities by radio. …