Silke Lehmköster, fleet chief of Hapag‑Lloyd, does not think a rapid military escort of merchant vessels through the Strait of Hormuz can be achieved. In an interview with the Spiegel she said, “The hope is great, but our expectation is relatively low”.
She added that war now dominates the Persian Gulf, and that naval ships are busy with other matters instead of providing escort services.
Trump’s announcement on Tuesday evening that the U.S. Navy would escort tankers was described by Lehmköster, a captain herself, as “not so simple”. “Ships move, and an escort would have to stay relatively close to the commerce ship” she explained. “Naval vessels can protect only within a limited radius, so you would need a ship for every commercial vessel”. She pointed out that, when scaled to the number of ships in the Gulf, the requirement becomes impracticable.
Because Iran has banned passage through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, hundreds of ships-including several Hapag‑Lloyd vessels-are now stranded in the Persian Gulf. On Truth Social, President Trump stated that “if necessary, the U.S. Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible”.