Hang on, what?!
Ekranoplans? They have those?!

Thanks for the updates, BonnieLass, really interesting!

​​​​​​​https://www.pprune.org/military-avia...l#post12082113

​​​​​​​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HESA_Bavar_2

The UAE are speeding up their construction of a second pipeline network connecting the Gulf States with Fujairah via a second pipeline to run alongside the existing Habshan-Fujairah system that is currently moving 1.8 million barrels of oil per day. The new pipeline is due to be completed in 2027. Saudi Arabia and UAE are currently the only Gulf States that have pipelines leading outside of the Persian Gulf thus bypassing the choke point of the Strait.. Extending the network will enable Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain to export oil without having to depend on the Strait of Hormuz.

The shipping companies are pushing hard for alternative methods of getting oil, oil products, LNG, LPG and other cargoes out and to lose the dependency on the Strait of Hormuz...and allowing Iran to disrupt trade routes as is the case currently. Eventually the Gulf States are looking to be able to drop most of their current need for transit through the Strait. This would mean that Iran will not profit from it since the majority of transits would be their own ships. Port infrastructure, road and rail improvements along with the pipeline network have been planned for several years but with the hostilities, those plans have been accelerated.

More on the new pipeline : UAE’s new West-East pipeline to double ADNOC’s export capacity through Fujairah (Gulf News - May 15, 2026)

Also...in the same vein as their ekranoplan fleet, the Iranians have deployed several locally built Ghadir class midget submarines within the Strait of Hormuz. They can sit and wait on the seabed for a few days and can attack a ship without any warning. Powered by diesel-electric engines, they have a crew of 7 and are said to be quite effective at torpedoing ships that are using the Strait due to their shallow water design and relatively small size....approx 125 tons submerged displacement.

More on the Ghadir : Iran Deploys ‘Trigger-Ready’ Ghadir Submarines to Strait of Hormuz as Tehran Signals Underwater Threat to Global Oil Routes (Defence Security Asia - May 10, 2026)

Bonnielass

Is there not an Oman - UAE rail line that could be used to transport cargo?
That would save cargo/container ships using the Strait.

Under construction
https://www.hafeetrail.com

……………….

apparently, we still have folks here hooked on alternate news sources and are not here in the U.S. with several sources to read, see or listen...gotta laugh....

Gums sends...
meanwhile folks on the Gulf are defeating Iran's blackmail attempt...just need support from "interested" countries.

Today's updates on the Strait of Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandab and the ancharages.......including "friendly gestures" concessions, double standards and the figures that simply do not add up

The last 24 hours has seen an increase in traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is trying to curry favour with certain nations...which is to be expected.....by allowing tankers free transit. Nations such as China, Japan, India have all seen vessels pass through without being harrassed. Chinese ships have been allowed through to coincide with the visit to China by president Trump. The Iranians have stated more than once that they have a deep understanding with certain nations and that is reflected by allowing the ships to pass, all diplomatic and nice (or as some might put it, a little bit of sucking up goes a long way).

One of the first to exit was the China bound VLCC, Yuan Hua Hu, carrying approximately 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude. The ship is now well on its way unhindered to Zhoushan from Al Basrah.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....e307df8d03.png

It is no surprise that many within the industry are treating this "free pass" for Chinese ships as a coincidence due to president Trumps visit to China with the USN allowing the ship to pass, yet only a few days ago another ship also loaded with Iraqi crude from Al Basrah, the Greek owned and flagged Agios Fanourios I, on her way to Nghi Son was stopped by the USN and remains at anchor off Muscat


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....cde61fabb1.png

The list of who to stop appears, on the face of it, to be a complex and complicated question......especially when the oil isn't Iranian and hasn't come from an Iranian port, which considering the Iranian ports are blockaded by the USN...why would they block oil from Iraqi ports...but only some ships and not others.

In relation to the figures not adding up....confusion abound over the capacity to store oil and oil products in Iran is persisting. Kharg Island is back in business, tankers are being loaded and there is sufficient storage space despite the bombardment received with one organisation, Windward, stating that around 20 tankers were loaded or are in the process of loading that are able to provide approximately 25 million barrels of floating storage capacity. Over and above this, another organisation, Vortexa, have stated that several empty oil and gas tankers have sailed past the USN blockade into the Persian Gulf for Iranian ports for floating storage. Incidently the large oil slick spotted a few days ago seems to be due to a tanker washing its tanks and not as a result of the pipeline leaking or due to damage storage tanks on Kharg Island. Suffice it to say, the oil and gas industry in Iran is working relatively normally and there does not appear to be a shortage of storage capacity on land or floating despite the measures taken by the USN.

More information : Hormuz Traffic Increases as Iran Metes Out Passage for Political Gain (Maritime Executive - May 15, 2026)

So to the Strait of Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandab Strait

Hormuz is flowing quite well this morning, several ships in both directions and most avoiding the proverbial toll booth route north of Larak Island


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....a096500c00.png

Bab-el-Mandab traffic has increased over the last 24 hours, currently flowing well


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....48f9103d3a.png

At time of typing this, there have been no reported incidents at either Strait.

The Persian Gulf anchorages remain busy, again no reported incidents as yet today. I am wondering if the attack on HMM Namu a few days ago might not have been a mine (as considered by her Korean owners) but maybe a Ghadir midget submarine attack.....thoughts from others here would be welcome. Night time clusters are still being formed across the Persian Gulf, which would be understandable if Ghadir are deployed in the area around Mina Saqr and Ras al Khaimah


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....bef4d19e17.png
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....d5ac9f3484.png
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....40b35472e5.png

Outside the Strait of Hormuz, activity has increased significantly across all anchorages and ports. Heavy clusters around Fujairah, Al Widdiyat, Khor Fakkan and Liwa.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....107e24b167.png

That is all for the time being.......still no word on CMA CGM San Antonio's situation, hopefully there will be soon. Will update again tomorrow.

A floating mine that just happened to drift to exactly the perfect spot on a ships machinery space, so as to do disabling damage with minimum risk of oil spillage. Sounds improbable doesn't it.

Herding makes it easier to intervene in the flock.

In regard to the Ghadir, I have found this film made 12 years ago.......it appears to be legitimate. Made by the Iranian military. Running time is a little over 8 minutes.


They are notoriously hard to spot via sonar thanks to their small size, small sonar signature and their ability to hide amongst underwater rocky outcrops.

More information : Iran’s Mini-Subs Turn the Strait of Hormuz Into a Sonar Trap (Modern Engineering Marvels - April 9, 2026)

Which would be mainly China, India, Japan and South Korea.Those are the Countries which are getting their Oil and fertliser from there. Seems at least China, India and maybe Japan have found a silent agreement with Iran. seems things will be rather settling behind the scenes once the big dust has settled and everyone's gone home.

By 'everyone', you presumably mean the USA.

That doesn't help the Gulf nations that until now have been allies of the USA. The still have to get their oil/gas/minerals out of the Gulf, and I doubt they're confident that the departure of the USN would stop the asymmetric warfare or blockage of the strait. At best, they'd be left having to factor in the 'toll' charge to their prices, to their own detriment. At worst, they'd be left defenceless. These countries have paid the Trump administration (or family) huge amounts of money to insure them against exactly what's happening now. If the US military creeps away, that's another tranche of allies lost to the US. Those bases are/were useful.

Aren't these tiny subs just big mines really, that Mine sweepers would/could/should pickup..? :}

Not thread drift but interesting developments elsewhere.
Looking at American news media yesterday evening it seems DJT’s and others focus is shifting towards Cuba
It seems the 94 year old Raul Castro is a clear and present danger and wanted for the shoot down of 2 civilian Cessna 337 aircraft operated by a Cuban dissident group based in Florida in 1996, a mere 30 years ago!

Could this be a deliberate distraction from the lack of progress in the Persian Gulf?
Another factor could be the Cuban / Latino vote in the upcoming midterms.

So todays updates...warring words (and stating the obvious)...and the Gerald R Ford is finally home for the next 12months...maybe 24 months...possibly longer

The very predictable Mr Trump has once again stated that the Strait of Homuz must be open.....and Mr Xi agreed that, yes, it must be open. Then, stating the obvious that it was open before the current conflict, Mr Xi is said to have added that the conflict should never have been started in the first place (yes, Mr Xi...we know). China is not looking to force the Strait to be reopened fully (just as several other countries have said when asked to do the same thing, in so many words..."no...you started it....you sort it" ). Mr Trump, meanwhile is pondering about lifting US sanctions on China buying Iranian oil.....just has to try and do a deal somewhere with someone...again. In the meantime oil prices have been fluctuating in the upward direction...and doing the deal seems further away than ever...despite Iran stating many times they would be happy to negotiate some more but no-one is listening.

More on this : Trump says Xi agrees Iran must open strait, China says war should not have started (Baird Maritime - May 16, 2026)

To give an indication as to how the Strait of Hormuz is affecting the export of oil, it is reported that through April 2026 Iraq managed to export 10 million barrels of oil via the Strait. In the month prior to the conflict, it had exported 93 million barrels of oil via the Strait. Iraq is exporting overland via the newly reopened Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline thanks to a new agreement tween Iraq and Kurdistan in March 2026. This means that they can currently export 200000 barrels a day through Ceyhan port in Turkey, and are hoping to increase that to 500000 barrels. Ongoing discussions tween Iraq and Turkey in regard to developing new agreements that would include gas and oil products (the current deal is for crude only).

More on this : Iraq exported 10 million barrels of oil through Strait of Hormuz in April (Baird Maritime - May 16, 2026)

The Gerald R Ford has finally arrived back home in Virginia after her extended 326 day deployment. The ship has faced a few problems during her time at sea and will be entering a period of maintenance slated to last at least 12 to 24 months. She was welcomed home by families of the crew...and Pete Hegseth. Also arriving home was USS Mahan and USS Bainbridge. Another homecoming was for USS Winston S Churchill after her extended deployment arrived in Mayport, Florida.

More on this : USS Gerald R. Ford and Strike Group Arrive Home Ending Record Deployment (Maritime Executive - May 16, 2026)


Now to the Straits and anchorages.....

Fairly quiet on the Strait of Hormuz. At time of writing, no incidents reported. However there are some very tight huddles off Khasab just inside the Strait.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....507d7296fa.png

Nice and quiet at Bab-el-Mandab this morning also, again at time of writing, no reported incidents


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....098350f7cb.png

The main anchorages from Bahrain to Iraq are looking calm, several ships are in huddles again.......and Kharg Island is quiet, an Iranian tug called Karen 4 seems to be in the area where the oil slick was spotted last week


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....5c0b3be6d9.png

The Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Ras-al-Khaimah / Mina Saqr areas are very busy as always, large groups of ships with the usual "sheep dog" Iranian ekranoplan and patrol boats keeping them close quartered


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....3000f2a3c1.png

And on the outside of the Strait of Hormuz, also very busy from Dibba anchorage right down to Sohar anchorage. The ports of Khor Fakkan (containership / cargo) and Fujairah (oil / gases / oil products) are both highly active...again with the "sheep dog" Iranian herders nearby.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....0a4fad89f9.png

CMA CGM San Antonio and her crew are still unaccounted for, it is 12 days since she was last seen on AIS.

That's it for today, back in the morning.

So, the USA has told the UAE it should use its troops to seize the disputed islands in the Strait and control of the Gulf - presumably with the US providing air support. Meanwhile the C-17s and other NVAs in the Gulf have flown out over the last 24 hours, just as they did before the last US attack.

May be about to kick off again now Trump is back from China.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/...090000951.html

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That's not strictly correct.

Ukraine has 4 minesweepers currently in Portsmouth (2 x ex RN, 1 ex Dutch Navy and 1 x ex Belgian Navy), the RN has a couple left and Lithuania have them. They are all ready to sail to the Gulf once hostilities are completed.

On top of that RFA Lyme Bay is in Gibraltar with her automonous minesweeping drones along with a few other countries that have those too. Again ready and willing to sail to the Gulf once hostilities end.

The USN used to have 4 minesweepers based in Bahrain, they were decommissioned last year, leaving 4 others still in service based in Japan.