Where The Oil Is

There is probably going to be more conflict with Iran, as oil tankers are going through the Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.  Yesterday the IRGC Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized a British-owned oil tanker the Stena Impero and a second tanker, the Liberian-flagged MV Mesdar was detained.  The US military believes that the seizure of the British ship was clearly a preplanned and coordinated Iranian operation, as both tankers were boarded and taken into Iranian waters, about a half hour apart, however the second vessel that was later released.  Iran claims that this was done in retaliation of the Stena Impero crashing into one of their fishing vessels.  The UK feels that Iran was retaliating against the seizure of an Iranian ship by Gibraltar and U.K. ships have been advised to stay out of the area for an interim period.

It takes about 20 minutes for a fully loaded large tanker to stop when heading at normal speed and one would think that a fishing vessel in these waters would know better than to put themselves in the path of these large super tankers.  Give a wide berth should be foremost on their mind.  These ships may require as much as 5 miles to stop and the reason that it take so long to stop is because these tankers build up a huge amount of momentum while they are cruising along.  The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s single most important oil passageway, being the only route to the open ocean for over one-sixth of global oil production and one-third of the world’s liquefied natural gas.  Iran’s actions come amid increasing hostility between Tehran and Washington, which have raised tensions in the already volatile region.

Written for Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Saturday Mix – Mad About Metaphor, 20 July 2019 hosted by weejars aka Sarah where the prompt is – Give a wide berth.