It was reported this weekend that the U.S. Navy has spent the last four months carrying out a quiet, under-the-radar mine-clearing operation in the Strait of Hormuz.
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Navy SEALs, operating at night, used robot boats and underwater UAVs to steadily clear the Strait for the passage of international tanker traffic.
The reports followed an announcement by Pres. Trump that the Navy had cleared all mines from the Strait. This announcement was greeted by legacy media with the customary skepticism given anything Donald Trump says. It was almost immediately verified by the Navy. (The number of mines involved varies from a few dozen to eighty to over 100.)
Instead of relying on dedicated minesweepers as is usually the case, the SEALs developed entirely new techniques utilizing breakthroughs in UAV and sonar technology. Robot boats and Mk-18 Kingfish UAVs towing AQS-20A side-looking sonar arrays located the mines while the SEALs followed aboard inflatable rafts at a safe distance. (Such rafts contain no materials, such as metals, that could trigger a mine.)
At that point, a SEAL would go over the side, dive down to the mine, and attach an explosive charge, which would be detonated at a safe distance. It’s absolutely hair-raising missions like this that give the SEALs their legendary reputation.
Small units in rubber boats would be unlikely to be detected by Iranian forces across the Strait, unlike easily visible conventional minesweepers. This goes a long way toward explaining why no casualties have been reported.
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The Financial Times reports that industry observers believe that the southern routes on the coast of Oman have been cleared but are skeptical concerning parts of the Strait closer to Iran. This may well be the case, since shipping is not going to be using those routes anyway.
Iran has repeatedly claimed the ships have struck its mines going through the Strait, though there’s no actual evidence for this. In late August, the Navy destroyed several rocket launchers on Larak Island that were about to launch missiles carrying mines across the Strait. This type of mine weighs about 50 kg (110 lbs.) and would do only minor damage to a large ship. They’re more of a nuisance than anything else.
Between 15 to 20 tankers carrying up to 18 million barrels of oil are now clearing the Strait each night, escorted by Navy ships.
These latest SEAL reports are strong evidence that a lot is going on behind the scenes as regards Iran. We’ll be hearing more in the weeks to come.
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