Episode 9: The Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf

Jul 23, 2024

Commodore Adrian Fryer (Ret.) brings 31 years of Royal Navy expertise, particularly on Persian Gulf security, while Evan Curt serves as Deputy Commissioner for Maritime Affairs for the Marshall Islands, focusing on maritime security management. They delve into threats in the Strait of Hormuz, discussing Iran's tactics, including the use of UAVs and maritime coercion. The conversation also covers historical conflicts, regional naval dynamics, and the economic impacts of rising tensions on global shipping routes and energy flows.

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INSIGHT

Global Chokepoint With Massive Energy Flow

The Strait of Hormuz is a global choke point carrying roughly 20 million barrels per day, about 20% of petroleum by volume.
Its narrow navigable channel (≈4 miles) concentrates huge energy flows into a highly vulnerable bottleneck.

INSIGHT

Extreme Canalization And Congestion

The navigable channel is only about four miles wide and split into inbound and outbound lanes of roughly two miles each.
That concentrated traffic creates chronic congestion and operational risk for all vessels transiting the strait.

INSIGHT

Longstanding, Evolving Maritime Conflict

Hostilities in the Gulf date back to the 1980s 'tanker wars' and have never been fully calm since.
Incidents have evolved from state-on-state kinetic warfare to modern asymmetric maritime harassment and mining.

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In conjunction with the 2024 Maritime Symposium: Exploring Our Maritime Strategies II, guests Royal Navy Commodore Adrian Fryer (Ret.) and Mr. Evan Curt join host Col. Dave Brown and co-host Jon R. Huggins to discuss security threats to shipping, particularly energy exports sailing through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. Listen to this episode to gain an overview of the security threats within this critical maritime strait, and to global maritime commerce.

Articles:

Co-Host:

Jon Huggins Associate Professor for International Programs at the U.S. Naval War College. As the founding Director of the Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) program during the height of the Somali piracy crisis, his organization’s research was featured by the BBC, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Al Jazeera. OBP was also a key contributor to the release of 44 piracy hostages held in Somalia for up to four years. He later worked across four continents as a maritime security consultant for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Maritime Organization, the G7++ Presidency and the commercial shipping industry. A career Navy P-3 Naval Flight Officer, he directed multi-squadron flight operations for Operation Enduring Freedom, and also served on the NATO and EU Military Staffs in Brussels, 7th Fleet HQ, and was a Federal Executive Fellow at the Atlantic Council, and a member of the CNO Executive Panel staff.

Guests:

Evan Curt

Deputy Commissioner of Maritime Affairs, Republic of the Marshall Islands. In 2012, Mr. Curt joined International Registries, Inc.’s Maritime Services Group as Maritime Security & Investigations Coordinator and in 2015 was promoted to Ship Security Manager. In 2021, Mr. Curt was promoted to Vice President, Maritime Security. In this role, Mr. Curt is responsible for issues relating to the ISPS Code and related maritime security issues and initiatives including piracy and armed robbery against ships, maritime terrorism, stowaways, contraband smuggling, and maritime cyber risk management. He serves as a delegate to many maritime security working groups coordinated and supported by shipping industry associations, NATO, coalition naval forces, and the IMO. Mr. Curt earned his M.A. in Maritime Security from Coventry University, his M.B.A. from Arizona State University, and his B.A. in Business and International Studies from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Mr. Curt is a certified ISO 9001:2008 Lead Internal Auditor and ISPS Code Security Officer.

Adrian Fryer

A 31-year career warfare officer in the Royal Navy with a wide range of operational and academic experience. Sea Commands included HMS TYNE on UK Maritime Security duties, HMS CLYDE in the South Atlantic and Falkland Islands, and the T45 destroyer HMS DAUNTLESS, which served as Air and Missile Defense Commander to the USS Carl Vinson Carrier Battle Group conducting counter IS operations in the Gulf. Operational Commands included: Captain Patrol, Underwater Exploitation and Diving; 1st Command of the International Maritime Security Construct and Coalition Task Force Sentinel (Middle East); Commander UK Forces and UK Maritime Component Commander (wider Middle East); and Deputy Commander of the Combined Maritime Forces, the world’s largest naval operational partnership (for which he was awarded the U.S. Legion of Merit). He is an alumnus of the Advanced Command and Staff Course (Shrivenham), the Executive Alliance Business School (Manchester), and the U.S. Naval War College, where he later taught Joint Military Operations.