Radio National Breakfast Will the US Navy ever escorts ships through the Strait of Hormuz?
Mar 16, 2026
Admiral Gary Roughead, former Chief of Naval Operations, offers frank, frontline naval perspective. He explains why escorts through the Strait of Hormuz are hard to mount right now. He outlines how many ships convoys might need. He discusses protecting imports both ways, dealing with shore-based threats, and the strain on missile and interceptor supplies.
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Limited Ships Make Convoys Resource Intensive
- Escorting even a handful of tankers needs multiple combatants because convoys require protection from small craft, drones and missiles through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Admiral Gary Roughead estimates 5–6 merchant ships escorted by a couple of combatants for the few-hour transit, plus two-way escorts for inbound supplies.
Hormuz Disruption Hits More Than Oil
- The Strait blockade has wide ripple effects beyond oil, raising energy prices and affecting materials like helium and fertilizer inputs.
- Roughead warns shortages could hit chip manufacturing and agriculture, and Gulf states may lack essentials like food.
Suppress Threats From Sea And Air Not Ground Forces
- Suppress Iranian shore-based launchers and maritime threats from sea and air rather than deploying ground troops around the narrowest strait areas.
- Roughead says striking mobile missile and drone launchers is preferred to putting boots on the rugged terrain.