US launches ‘Project Freedom’ to assist stranded vessels in Strait of Hormuz

Get you up to speed: US launches ‘Project Freedom’ to assist stranded vessels in Strait of Hormuz

Thousands of sailors stranded in Strait of Hormuz left waiting for Trump’s ‘Project Freedom’ | News World

Iran‘s ISNA news agency on May 2, 2026, the Gambia-flagged tanker vessel Bili is pictured anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.” decoding=”sync”/>
Thousands of sailors are still stuck because of the stalemate at the Strait of Hormuz (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

Tensions at the Strait of Hormuz continue more than 24 hours after Donald Trump declared ‘Project Freedom,’ with little change for tankers stranded in the high-pressure zone.

The narrow passage has become the focal point of the war in Iran, started by the US and Israel on February 28, which saw the Strait being blockaded by Tehran.  

In a bid to ease shipping, Trump announced his ‘Project Freedom,’ a US-led operation to guide neutral vessels out of the Strait.  

Some seafarers have been stranded for months since the Strait became effectively closed, with shipping companies hesitant to transit through it for fear of being attacked by Iranian forces.  

The US said that two American-flagged merchant vessels had moved through the Strait on Monday after the project kicked off.

The situation appears to remain largely the same at the Strait of Hormuz before and after Trump’s ‘Project Freedom,’ with hundreds of vessels lingering around the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf (Picture: Marine Traffic)

Sign up for all of the latest stories

However, experts have warned that this is just a drop in the ocean compared to some 135 vessels transiting through before the start of the war.  

The International Maritime Organization said it is concerned for the welfare of 20,000 seafarers affected by the instability.

One Ukrainian sailor said the crews have been trapped for two months, forcing them to fish from the deck and find ways to entertain themselves while being separated from their families.

The sailor told the New Voice of Ukraine: ‘I contacted my family, calmed them down and explained that it’s not as scary here as it is in Ukraine.

‘That was actually true. I also told them that as long as we’re at anchor, everything will be fine.’

The Trump administration has insisted that the project to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz is separate from the war in Iran (Picture: Getty Images North America)

Trump announced over the weekend that ‘Project Freedom’ will start on Monday morning to ‘free up people, companies, and Countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong – they are victims of circumstance.’  

The US president described it as a ‘humanitarian gesture on behalf of the United States, Middle Eastern countries, but, in particular, the country of Iran.’  

Trump’s project appears to have all but eased the situation at the Strait, with fears that direct fighting, which has been paused since the April ceasefire, could escalate again.

The American forces said they had shot at Iranian forces, sinking six small boats, while the United Arab Emirates said it had been targeted by Iran for the first time in weeks, including a fire caused by a drone at an oil facility.

The US Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, claimed today that the shipping operation is a ‘separate and distinct’ mission from the war against Iran, branded as ‘Operation Epic Fury.’

UAE’s Fujairah oil plant was struck by an Iranian drone yesterday, the first time the Emirates have been targeted in weeks

Speaking at the Pentagon today, Hegseth said: ‘To be clear, this operation is separate and distinct from Operation Epic Fury. Project Freedom is defensive in nature, focused in scope and temporary in duration, with one mission, protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression.’

He insisted that the troops taking part in the project will not enter the Iranian airspace or territorial waters.

This is a crucial detail for the Trump administration as the US law requires the president to terminate any use of United States Armed Forces after 60 days of starting a war without the Congress’s approval, which the war in Iran did not have.

Are you worried about fuel crisis in the UK?

Stay up to date with the stories everybody’s talking about by signing up to WTX’s News Updates newsletter.

Iran has warned that any passage through the Strait must be coordinated with it ‘under all circumstances.’

Its foreign minister Abbas Araghchi labelled the ‘Project Freedom’ as ‘Projec Deadlock’ on X, saying that Strait of Hormuz stalemate has ‘no military solution.’

After a brief opening of the Strait last month, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps warned ships from passing through it before soldiers boarded and attacked merchant ships.

The regime then laid mines across the passage, leading the US to block Iranian oil ports in a bid to strangle the regime’s major source of income from shipments.

Oil and fuel prices have skyrocketed around the world and in the UK since the Strait was blockaded, leading to anxiety about when the stalemate will end – and how long fuel supplies will last.

The uncertainty has hit the aviation industry and smaller airlines in particular, with US-based Spirit Airlines shutting down over the weekend.

While the UK government and the fuel industry have insisted that Britain does not have a fuel shortage, alarm has been raised over low levels that could see flights being cancelled this summer.

The government announced emergency measures like relaxing flight take-off and landing rules in a bid to give airlines flexibility. This could include airlines consolidating flights and moving passengers onto earlier flights on specific routes instead of full cancellations.

Comment now

Comments

Add WTX as a Preferred Source on Google

Add as preferred source