How the U.S. military and Maersk got a ship to pass through the Strait of Hormuz

A Maersk container ship loaded with cargo containers sails out of port waters near the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals on March 19, 2026 in Hong Kong, China. Cheng Xin | News | The chief executive of Maersk, one of the world's largest shipping companies, said Thursday that one of its commercial vessels was able to successfully pass through the Strait of Hormuz thanks to a "very well executed mission" by the U.S. Navy. Maersk confirmed earlier in the week that Alliance Fairfax, a U.S.-flagged ship operated by Farrell Lines, a subsidiary of Maersk Line Ltd., or MLL, completed its transit through the narrow waterway and the Persian Gulf without incident on Monday, accompanied by the U.S. military. In doing so, the vessel became one of a relatively small number of ships to have safely passed through the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Israeli-led war against Iran started on Feb. 28. Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said the company had deliberately taken a "very cautious approach" during the Middle East crisis, opting not to take any crossings despite several of its ships being left stranded in the region. "In this case here, we were approached by the U.S. government and the U.S. Navy specifically saying that they wanted to take some ships out," Clerc told CNBC's " Squawk Box Europe " on Thursday. …