Several vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz have been attacked in recent days, underscoring the “very real” risks that remain for shipowners in the Persian Gulf whether or not a peace accord is signed, Chevron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth said.
“There still has been kinetic activity this week, some of which has been reported in the media — some of which has not,” Wirth said on Bloomberg TV on Friday. “We see risks very real still in that environment.”
Asked to clarify what hadn’t yet been reported, Wirth said several ships have been attacked.
“There have been vessels that have been in transit that have suffered attacks,” he said. “They’re maybe not every day, but there have been multiple incidents that have occurred.”
Chevron would not consider paying a toll to move ships through the Strait of Hormuz, Wirth said. The company currently has six vessels in the Persian Gulf waterway that are under charter, meaning they belong to a third party. It will be the ship owner who decides whether or not to move through the strait, Wirth said.
It means that ship owners and their insurers will have to feel comfortable that passage is safe for oil to begin moving again, whether or not the US and Iran reach a peace deal in the coming days. They will also have to be willing to send ships back into the strait for trade to get back to normal, Wirth said.
“Ship owners have to be comfortable sending ships back in after having ships trapped for months and crews trapped for months,” he said. “They may or may not be willing to move all of their vessels back in.”
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