As the war enters its third week, U.S. military officials report that 6,000 Iranian military targets have been struck, including ballistic missile sites and air defense systems. They also state that Iran’s navy has been rendered, quote, “combat ineffective.” Yet, Iran continues to maintain its stranglehold over a tiny elbow of water called the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz is the only route connecting the oil-rich countries in the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world. This crucial 21-mile-wide waterway handles about a fifth of the world’s oil. Normally, 130 commercial ships pass through it every day. But on February 28, when Israeli and American jets began dropping bombs on Iran and Iran retaliated, those ships ground to a halt, spiking American gas prices.
This closure is unprecedented for one of the world’s most vital choke points. That is where we begin tonight—the Strait of Hormuz, where an estimated 20,000 crew members are stranded and under attack.
### Attacks in the Strait of Hormuz
This past Wednesday, a Thai cargo ship was struck by a projectile from Iran, setting the ship on fire and trapping members of the crew. It is one of the few ships attempting to cross since the start of the war. Most others remain at a standstill, hovering in the waters surrounding the strait, accompanied by the constant sound of drones and scenes of conflict.
From her operations center in Hamburg, Germany, Capt. Silke Lehmköster oversees a fleet of 300 vessels for the German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd.
“At what point did you look at the situation out there and say, ‘It’s too dangerous. These ships should not sail through this strait’?” asked Cecilia Vega.
“That was very early and very quickly,” Capt. Lehmköster responded. “Iran already said that they would attack any vessel passing through the Strait of Hormuz. That was the moment when we called off.”
As the war broke out, six of her cargo ships carrying furniture, electronics, clothing—anything you might have in your home—were headed toward the strait. Then came a message from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard broadcast over their ship radios: “From now on, all navigation through the Strait of Hormuz is forbidden.”
“Yes, we took that message seriously,” said Capt. Lehmköster, who ordered her crew not to proceed.
### The Human Toll and Standstill
Today, roughly 150 men sit trapped as the war rages around them.
“What were they seeing out there?” asked Vega.
“Drones flying by. They also saw explosions close to the port, with a lot of smoke,” Lehmköster explained. “It was terrifying for them.”
Captain Lehmköster is not alone in facing these challenges. Approximately 700 ships are currently sitting in the Persian Gulf, including 400 oil tankers holding 200 million barrels of oil—enough to fuel Japan for two months.
From her operations center, Capt. Lehmköster monitors her fleet’s position—those orange dots represent their ships. The men onboard have been ordered to stay below deck as much as possible. Communication is difficult at times, as satellite phones are sometimes interfered with, but her team remains in constant contact with their crews.
### Attacks on Ships
There have been 16 confirmed attacks on ships in and around the Persian Gulf since the war began. Iran has claimed responsibility for several. At least eight crew members have been killed.
Matt Smith, an oil market analyst for Kpler, which tracks global trade and shipping, monitors ship activity in the strait. Smith shared a time-lapse showing how quickly ship traffic moved around the bend of the strait in the days before the war.
“On a normal day, about 100 ships pass through there,” Smith noted. “When the bombing started with Iran, we saw that number drop to about 70. By Sunday, it dropped into the teens, and since then, only one or two tankers have been passing through each day.”
The few ships that have moved are mostly from one country—Iran.
### Iran’s Oil Shipments and Strategic Moves
Smith highlighted one Iranian tanker named Hilda, loaded with two million barrels of Iranian crude, typically heading to China.
In a surprising discovery this past week, Smith and his team found that Iran has exported 100,000 more barrels of oil daily than before the war, most of it going to China. To do this, nine Iranian oil tankers have traveled through the Strait of Hormuz by turning off their transponders, which reveal their locations.
On Thursday, Iran’s state TV aired the first public statement from the country’s new supreme leader, reading: “The leverage of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must continue.”
### The Significance of the Strait
“’Choke point’ understates it,” said Bob McNally, an energy adviser to President George W. Bush during the Iraq War and a current advisor on oil and gas markets. “This is the mother of all choke points. Imagine your heart has one artery taking lifeblood to the rest of your body—that is what the Strait of Hormuz is.”
Last year, McNally predicted these tensions.
“We’re not surprised that, if unmolested, Iran would be able to make Hormuz unsafe for that lifeblood to flow,” he said.
When asked if he would have advised President Bush to go through with the strikes, McNally replied, “Yes. I believe what President Trump is doing in terms of defanging the Iranian regime is principled, courageous, and correct. I totally support the goal.”
However, McNally emphasized the importance of managing the oil and gas market implications from day one by targeting Iran’s ability to threaten the strait’s security.
“I don’t know if they did that,” he said. “And yes, I have concerns based on what I’ve seen so far.”
### Economic Impact
Since the war began, U.S. gas prices have increased by more than 65 cents per gallon—the fastest weekly spike in 10 years.
“The all-time high for the most consumers have ever paid was in the summer of 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine,” McNally said. “That was a $5 per gallon average. If we don’t open up Hormuz soon, I can see us making new records.”
It’s not just gas prices: jet and diesel fuel costs have risen by 25%, leading to higher plane tickets and grocery prices.
“The gasoline we pay for at the pump is set in a global oil market,” McNally explained. “A supply disruption anywhere leads to price spikes for consumers everywhere, including here.”
This effect trickles down throughout the entire supply chain, impacting everything from food production to transportation.
### Efforts to Secure the Strait
Despite President Trump’s recent assurances that “the straits are in great shape” and that U.S. forces have “knocked out all of their boats,” most ships remain too wary to cross.
U.S. Central Command recently targeted 30 “mine layers,” boats believed to be used by Iran for deploying mines in the shipping lanes. The President also promised to help cover the cost of risk insurance to reassure nervous ship owners and suggested the U.S. Navy might offer escorts, though no definite timeline has been provided.
When asked if more insurance would help, Capt. Lehmköster responded, “You cannot insure the life of a seafarer. We’d rather have escorts.” So far, no Navy escort has been offered.
### Additional Measures and Challenges
To move more oil onto the global market, the Trump administration announced it would temporarily lift sanctions on Russian oil, which had been imposed to punish Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine. Thirty-two countries, including the U.S., also plan to release 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves, a process expected to take at least three months.
“There are no policy solutions to a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” McNally warned.
When asked if there is anything the White House or the President can do to stop this crisis, he answered simply, “No.”
### The Difficulty of Reopening the Strait
Even if the White House or President Trump declared an end to the war tomorrow, there is no guarantee Iran would open the strait and life would return to normal.
“It’s not like there’s a big gate that swings open in front of the Hormuz and Iran locks it,” McNally explained. “All Iran has to do is demonstrate periodically that it can attack ships in the strait—and that will be enough.”
### Continued Attacks
The attacks continue. Two days after our interview, one of Capt. Lehmköster’s six cargo ships stuck in the Persian Gulf was struck near a port close to Dubai. The ship caught fire, though no crew members were injured.
When asked what needs to happen for her to tell her crews it is safe to sail, Capt. Lehmköster said, “We would need a real end to this escalation—no drones, no missiles, no whatsoever flying—and a clear message from everyone that they will stop.”
### International Calls and Iran’s Response
Yesterday, President Trump called on other countries, including China, to send ships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, stating, “this should have always been a team effort.”
However, this morning, Iran’s foreign minister stated that its military decides which countries are allowed to pass through the strait.
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*Produced by Lucy Hatcher and Jessica Kegu.
Associate producer: Eliza Costa.
Broadcast associates: Marcos Caballero and Erin DuCharme.
News associate: Julia C. Doyle.
Edited by Michael Mongulla.*
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-strait-of-hormuz-attacks-threaten-to-drive-us-gas-prices-to-record-highs-60-minutes-transcript/