Social media observers have raised concerns regarding the strategic water way known as the strait of Hormuz. No ship has passed the strait for over 15 hours now.
Some would suggest that a certain amount of traffic is common due to technical and mechanical problems that periodically occur, yet the abnormal congestion can be seen by satellite. Normal shipping lanes appear to be closed while ships are halted on either side of the waterway. Maritime traffic website MarineTraffic.com, shows the massive congestion, and is clearly more than one or two ships experiencing difficulties. The strait is controlled in large part by the nation of Iran, and is a critical conduit in the global oil supply chain. It is considered one of their most, if not the most strategic waterway on the planet. Much of the oil for the middle east passes through this controlled waterway, yet as of now the cause for the blockage is unclear, however some speculate that it may be related to Iran’s recent capture and release of the 10 US Navy sailors on Wednesday.
The strait has been a constant political strong hold for Iran as this is not the first time the passage has been used to elicit political action from the US. Subscribe to The Last American Vagabond and stay in the know as we bring you the latest updates as more information becomes available.
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Sources: https://www.marinetraffic.com/it/ais/home/centerx:57/centery:26/zoom:8, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/02/world/middleeast/strait-of-hormuz-once-again-at-center-of-us-iran-strife.html, https://twitter.com/ClancyReports/status/687280927446282242, https://twitter.com/M3t4_tr0n/status/687168911553478656, https://twitter.com/M3t4_tr0n, https://twitter.com/WarfareWW/status/687215476418703360, https://twitter.com/HasanSari7/status/687214272527470593
