U.S. President Donald Trump said he would halt the Project Freedom operation he launched the previous day to help ships from various countries trapped in the Strait of Hormuz escape, making the safe passage of about 1,600 vessels stuck in the strait uncertain again.
Earlier, on the 3rd (local time), President Trump said he would begin Project Freedom on the morning of the 4th to allow third-country ships trapped in the Strait of Hormuz to exit safely. At the time, he said on social media (SNS) that the United States would "safely guide vessels through these constrained waterways" and described it as a "humanitarian measure."
However, on the 5th, just a day after the operation began, President Trump abruptly declared a suspension of the project, saying there had been "significant progress toward a complete and final agreement with Iranian representatives." He said it was a decision made in consideration of requests from several countries, including Pakistan, and the results achieved in military operations against Iran.
From the outset, Project Freedom was seen as having a low chance of success because the fundamental problem—the threat of Iranian attacks—remained unresolved. Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior fellow and director of military analysis at the foreign policy think tank Defense Priorities, told CNBC that "this project does not address the fundamental problem that uncertainty over transport safety makes captains and shipping companies reluctant to take risks."
In fact, only two ships passed through the strait on the day the United States launched Project Freedom. Maersk, the Danish shipping giant, said a U.S.-flagged car carrier operated by one of its subsidiaries transited the strait under U.S. military protection. Compared with the roughly 130 ships that used this route per day before the war, the project's impact was effectively minimal.
Iranian attacks continued even while Project Freedom was underway. According to U.S. Central Command, on the 5th U.S. forces shot down cruise missiles and drones and destroyed six Iranian military fast boats that were threatening ships assisting a U.S. Navy vessel's transit of the strait. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also pointed to Iran as responsible for attacks in the Strait of Hormuz during the same period on key oil ports and tankers that left three people injured.
For shipping companies, operating vessels without guaranteed safety is inevitably a heavy burden. If a vessel worth millions of dollars is damaged, corporations face massive financial and logistical losses. Moreover, war exclusion clauses are included in insurance contracts, and in many cases insurers have no obligation to compensate ships stranded during wartime. In effect, shipping companies are being forced to move vessels without sufficient financial protection.
Actual damage cases are continuing. France's shipping company CMA CGM Group said on the 6th that one of its container ships was damaged in an attack while trying to pass through the strait. The Washington Post (WP) reported that "out of concern over Iran's fast boats and drones, major shipowners and operators still view this strait as an excessively dangerous route."
Industry officials also expect it will take considerable time to normalize operations in the Strait of Hormuz. Hapag-Lloyd, one of the world's largest container shippers, said in a statement that there was "no change" in its risk assessment and that "for now, our vessels cannot transit the strait." Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, also said, "Only a substantively verified peace agreement will restore confidence in the merchant shipping industry."
Kinaxis CEO Rajat Gaurav likewise predicted that even if a cease-fire holds and ships gradually resume operations in the Strait of Hormuz, shipping "will not return to normal overnight." He said, "Even if conditions improve, only when carriers, insurers and cargo owners gain confidence that stability will last can capacity and routes fully normalize."
For that reason, regardless of whether the project continues, the likelihood that about 1,600 vessels remaining in the strait can operate normally is still seen as low. CNN reported on the 6th that "shipping companies and stranded crews still have not found safe exit routes and are reluctant to sail while taking risks," and that "despite the cease-fire, missile attacks are continuing around the 21-mile-wide (about 34 kilometers) waterway."