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U.S. Navy ships sent an unmistakable signal Saturday as they crossed the Strait of Hormuz, challenging Iran’s control over the narrow waterway that will likely determine the outcome of the Middle East war.
The USS Michael Murphy turned on its automatic identification system as it and another destroyer, the USS Frank E. Peterson, transited the strait, breaking the typical protocol of Navy ships sailing with their AIS turned off.
“You just don’t throw AIS on by accident on a Navy ship,” Campbell University professor Salvatore Mercogliano, who specializes in military and maritime history, said on his podcast. “This is purposeful. They wanted to turn this on on the far side of the Strait of Hormuz to demonstrate that they have sailed through.”
U.S. Central Command said the destroyers had begun setting conditions for clearing mines that had been placed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
It added that more U.S. forces, including underwater drones, will join the clearance effort in the coming days, pointing out that the strait is an international sea passage and an essential trade corridor.
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