The Danish container shipping giant Maersk announced on Tuesday that one of its ships, the American-flagged Alliance Fairfax, had left the Strait of Hormuz, reports AFP.
“ALLIANCE FAIRFAX, a US-flagged vehicle carrier operated by Farrell Lines, Inc., a subsidiary of US carrier Maersk Line Limited (MLL), transited the Strait of Hormuz and left the Persian Gulf on May 4,” Maersk announced.
“The transit took place without incident and all crew members are safe and unharmed,” the shipowner said.
The ship was “escorted by US military forces,” the company added.
The car carrier “was in the Persian Gulf at the time hostilities between the United States and Iran broke out in February and was unable to depart due to persistent security concerns,” it said.
Two US-flagged merchant ships managed to “successfully” cross this strategic passage, Centcom, the US military command for the region, announced on Monday.
President Donald Trump said the US attacked seven Iranian “fast boats” in the Strait of Hormuz as Washington tries to guide the stranded vessels out of the Gulf.
Trump offered few details on the “Freedom Project,” the plan to help ships and their crews stranded in the vital waterway and facing a shortage of food and other supplies.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it would support the effort with 15,000 troops, more than 100 aircraft, as well as warships and drones.
Since the February 28 Israeli-American offensive, Iran has controlled the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas production usually transits. Washington retaliated with a blockade of Iranian ports.
A truce has been in place since April 8, but was jeopardized on Monday by Iranian-American clashes in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's renewed missile attacks on one of its Gulf neighbors, the United Arab Emirates.
