{"id":101383,"date":"2026-03-17T03:00:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T07:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/?p=101383"},"modified":"2026-03-16T16:15:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T20:15:22","slug":"the-mine-threat-in-the-straits-of-hormuz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/2026\/03\/17\/the-mine-threat-in-the-straits-of-hormuz\/","title":{"rendered":"The mine threat in the Straits of Hormuz"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdrsalamander.substack.com\/p\/a-mine-threat-where-are-the-minesweepers\" target=\"_blank\">CDR Salamander<\/a> discusses the naval situation in Iranian coastal waters as the threat of mines in the busy seaway helps deter civilian tanker traffic even more than existing drone and missile threat:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>At the end of last week, things were a&#8217;buzz&#8217;n about &#8216;ole silent-but-deadly &#8230; MINES!<\/p>\n<p>There is a lot of bad and in some places intentionally misleading reporting from traditional media on down over this weekend, so let&#8217;s do a quick summary.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/12\/world\/middleeast\/iran-mines-strait-of-hormuz-us.html\" target=\"_blank\"><em>NYT<\/em> got the ball rolling<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<p><em>Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf channel that carries 20 percent of the world&#8217;s oil, according to U.S. officials, an effort that could further complicate American efforts to restart shipping there.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>While the U.S. military said it had destroyed larger Iranian naval vessels that could be used to quickly lay mines in the strait, Iran began using smaller boats for the operation on Thursday, according to a U.S. official briefed on the intelligence.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Iran&#8217;s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps can deploy hundreds, even thousands, of the small boats, which the Iranian force has long used to harass larger ships, including the U.S. Navy&#8217;s.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This quickly reminded everyone of a little event from the start of the year that had a memorable visual.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Avenger-class-MCM-ships-on-MV-Seaway-Hawk-2026-01.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Avenger-class-MCM-ships-on-MV-Seaway-Hawk-2026-01.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"854\" height=\"478\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-101384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Avenger-class-MCM-ships-on-MV-Seaway-Hawk-2026-01.png 854w, https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Avenger-class-MCM-ships-on-MV-Seaway-Hawk-2026-01-480x269.png 480w, https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Avenger-class-MCM-ships-on-MV-Seaway-Hawk-2026-01-150x84.png 150w, https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Avenger-class-MCM-ships-on-MV-Seaway-Hawk-2026-01-768x430.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 854px) 100vw, 854px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.twz.com\/sea\/navys-avenger-class-mine-hunters-have-left-the-middle-east-for-good\" target=\"_blank\">TWZ<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<p><em>Four decommissioned U.S. Navy <strong>Avenger<\/strong> class mine countermeasures ships have left Bahrain on what may be their final voyage aboard a larger heavy lift vessel. <strong>Avengers<\/strong> had been forward-deployed to the Middle Eastern nation for years, where critical mine countermeasures duties have now passed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.twz.com\/news-features\/littoral-combat-ships-to-sail-with-mk70-vertical-launchers-strapped-to-their-decks\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Independence<\/strong> class Littoral Combat Ships<\/a> (LCS).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The public affairs office for U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and U.S. 5th Fleet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvidshub.net\/image\/9487727\/merchant-vessel-transports-decommissioned-us-navy-avenger-class-mine-countermeasures-ships\" target=\"_blank\">first released pictures<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seaway7.com\/vessels\/hawk\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>M\/V Seaway Hawk<\/strong><\/a>, a contracted semi-submersible heavy lift vessel, carrying the former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.surfpac.navy.mil\/Ships\/By-Class\/Mine-Countermeasures-Ships-MCM\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Avenger<\/strong> class<\/a> ships <strong>USS Devastator<\/strong>, <strong>USS Dextrous<\/strong>, <strong>USS Gladiator<\/strong>, and <strong>USS Sentry<\/strong> last Friday. The Navy released more images and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvidshub.net\/news\/556729\/decommissioned-mcm-ships-safely-transported-during-waterfront-evolution\" target=\"_blank\">a brief statement<\/a> yesterday. The date stamps on the pictures show the Avengers were physically loaded onto the <strong>Seaway Hawk<\/strong> in Bahrain on January 9.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This had a second <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/world\/royal-navy-s-last-gulf-minesweeper-brought-home-days-before-iran-mined-hormuz-shipping-lane\/ar-AA1Ytbtw?apiversion=v2&#038;domshim=1&#038;noservercache=1&#038;noservertelemetry=1&#038;batchservertelemetry=1&#038;renderwebcomponents=1&#038;wcseo=1\" target=\"_blank\">echo of a seapower past<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<p><em>Battered and unseaworthy, <strong>HMS Middleton<\/strong> was dragged by tugs into Portsmouth naval base on Sunday.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The <strong>Hunt<\/strong> class mine countermeasures vessel (MCMV) returned to the home of the Royal Navy on March 8 after being brought back from the Gulf by a heavy-lift ship.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The ignominious piggy-back was cheaper than letting the more than 40-year-old ship make the 6,200-mile journey back from Bahrain under her own power and freed her crew to join other ships.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>But her return after a journey that took weeks meant the end of the Royal Navy&#8217;s anti-mine vessel presence in the Middle East after almost 50 years. Only unmanned drone systems are left, according to the Navy.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HMS-Middleton-under-tow-2026-02.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HMS-Middleton-under-tow-2026-02-853x569.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"569\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-101385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HMS-Middleton-under-tow-2026-02-853x569.webp 853w, https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HMS-Middleton-under-tow-2026-02-480x320.webp 480w, https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HMS-Middleton-under-tow-2026-02-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HMS-Middleton-under-tow-2026-02-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HMS-Middleton-under-tow-2026-02-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HMS-Middleton-under-tow-2026-02-2048x1365.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/uk\/defence\/article\/royal-navy-gulf-minehunter-uk-2s50gs06q\" target=\"_blank\">metaphor<\/a>, etc.<\/p>\n<p>However, there is a worry that Iran might mine the Strait of Hormuz because it has been a concern \u2014 and occasionally a reality \u2014 for almost half a century. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CDR Salamander discusses the naval situation in Iranian coastal waters as the threat of mines in the busy seaway helps deter civilian tanker traffic even more than existing drone and missile threat: At the end of last week, things were a&#8217;buzz&#8217;n about &#8216;ole silent-but-deadly &#8230; MINES! There is a lot of bad and in some [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[370,5,13,663],"tags":[287,30,61],"class_list":["post-101383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-middle-east","category-military","category-usa","category-weapons","tag-iran","tag-navy","tag-ships"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2hpV6-qnd","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101383"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101386,"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101383\/revisions\/101386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}