followed by minesweepers
Posted on 04/12/2026 8:23:08 AM PDT by Miami Rebel
Two Navy guided-missile destroyers entered the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, the first American warships to transit the strait since the U.S.-Israel offensive in Iran began on Feb. 28.
USS Frank E. Petersen (DDG-121) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112) operated in the Persian Gulf after transiting the strait as part of the U.S. plan to “ensure the strait is fully clear of sea mines,” according to a Saturday U.S. Central Command news release. Frank E. Petersen is part of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, while Michael Murphy is an independently-deployed destroyer, according to USNI News’ Fleet and Marine Tracker. The pair of ships transited back through the strait to the Gulf of Oman, according to ship spotters.
Additional U.S. forces, to include underwater drones, according to the release.
The two ships transited the gulf to begin “setting conditions for clearing mines,” reads the release.
“Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in the release.
Iran announced on Thursday that there were mines in the strait, the first Tehran confirmation, and laid out two paths that ships can use to avoid them, USNI News previously reported. One of the paths included the Tehran tollbooth, which required ships to sail by Iran’s Larak Island while also contacting the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to provide documentation and, in some cases, payment.
In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump previewed the mine-clearing effort.
“We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others,” he wrote.
How the U.S.will clear the strait remains an open question. Over the last year, the Navy has made major changes to mine countermeasures in the Middle East. Last year, three Littoral Combat Ships replaced four Avenger-class Mine Countermeasure ships. USS Canberra (LCS-30), the first Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship with the first purpose-built MCM package, deployed in May to U.S. 5th Fleet with USS Santa Barbara (LCS-32) and USS Tulsa (LCS-16) arriving later last year.
Unlike the legacy Avengers, the MCM package relies on a combination of unmanned and helicopter-borne systems to clear sea mines while remaining out of danger areas.
All three LCS departed the Persian Gulf ahead of the U.S. strikes. Santa Barbara and Tulsa were spotted in Singapore while Canberra was operating near Diego Garcia, USNI News understands.
This week, two Japan-based Avenger-class minesweepers were dispatched toward U.S. Central Command. USS Pioneer (MCM-9) and USS Chief (MCM-14) came into port in Singapore after transiting the South China Sea. A U.S. 5th Fleet spokesperson declined to comment on the destination of Pioneer and Chief when asked by USNI News earlier this week.
The four Avenger-class MCM ships in 5th Fleet were decommissioned in Bahrain late last year and arrived in Philadelphia by a heavy-lift ship in March to be scrapped.
In addition to LCS MCM packages and the Avengers, the Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal community has 16 expeditionary MCM companies that use a combination of divers and unmanned systems that can operate on vessels of opportunity for mine-clearing operations. Those companies have deployed extensively in the Middle East, USNI News has reported.
If the ceasefire holds between Iran and U.S., mines become one of the only threats to ships, Dominick Donald, an advisor to the Joint War Committee, which represents war risk underwriters in the Lloyd’s insurance market, told USNI News. If the ceasefire fails or ends, then ships will have to face threats of Iranian projectiles as well.
There have not been any confirmed instances of a ship being hit by a mine since the conflict began. USNI News have tracked 29 vessels that have been hit by or in the area of Iranian projectiles.
Iran’s National Security Commission chart of the government approved traffic separations on April 9, 2026. Transits through the strait have continued to trickle despite the two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. Shipping analysis Lloyd’s List Intelligence tracked six transits on Wednesday and eight on Thursday. On Tuesday, the day of President Donald Trump’s 8 p.m. deadline to open the strait, there were 15.
Between March 30 to April 5, there were 76 transits, the busiest week for the strait since the conflict began. Transits are still less than 10 percent of the typical daily flow, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
There are an estimated 500 to 700 vessels over 10,000 dwt stuck in the Persian Gulf. That number is higher when ships under 10,000 dwt are added, Bridget Diakun, a senior editor with Lloyd’s List said during a Thursday webinar.
The Strait of Hormuz is a point of contention in ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. International maritime law treats the Strait of Hormuz as an international passage open to all, while Iran argues it is made up of Iranian and Omani territorial waters.
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No effort should be made to clear mines set in Iranian waters.
Focus on the habitual shipping lanes of the Strait.
The Iranians are taking a lesson from the Barbary pirates. As long as they have the power to close the Strait of Hormuz, they can extract tribute and fees from anyone wishing to transit. Removing the sea mines is difficult and necessary. However until Iran’s very effective drones are neutralized, the Iranians can control the strait.
And Trump is taking a lesson from Jefferson....hopefully.
With Trump at the helm, short term, maybe. Long term, not likely.
Strike the Neck of These Pirates
Permanently!
.
Free Persian Citizens!
Removing any sea mines.
None confirmed yet.
The major question: Does the US Navy have the necessary technology and tactics to force open the Strait, keep it open and control it? Its not like Admiral Farragaut getting his fleet beyon the forts guarding New Orleans.
Iran says it can’t recall every mine’s location.... Anyway, US can identify a route that has been swept and is safe, and subsequently keep it that way. Timetable not known, but blockade will stop when the job is done.
https://defensescoop.com/2026/04/11/strait-of-hormuz-mine-clearance-navy-centcom-underwater-drones/
the U.S. Navy has a slew of different UUVs that launch from just about any ship or sub we have all of them can host anti mine sonar and demo charges or water jets for soft kills. There is likely a SSGN in theatre that has the Seahorse UUV in action. We did surface the OHIO in the Med as a sign we have SOCOM boats in theatre.
We keep one of these in the Indian Ocean for sure and by now it could be under the straight and no one would know it. Using it’s UUVs and UDT divers covertly.
Any 688I , Virginia class or Seawolf can launch these now. The Navy went public for the first time but has been doing this for a while on the down low. UUVs not just out the tubs but back in after they are done.
https://www.twz.com/navy-submarine-just-tested-a-torpedo-tube-recovered-drone
Here again all covert and under the straight no one would know it and we wouldn’t necessarily advertise it until done. Plus the fact that two Burkes just paraded through the straight tells us we cleared a channel for them somehow well the above means is that somehow. The Burkes was a political message.
The Navy also has 16 MCM teams of UDT guys who can covertly work off any ship that has a standard hoist on it to raise and lower their UUVs the Barracuda being the official UUV of record there are more types being used Raytheon got their pay out not just Lockheed.
Dredging ops any time soon?
This is good information.
I found it silly to think we didn’t have a way to clear mines since we don’t have many ships officially called “Mine Sweepers”.
There’s more than one way to skin a cat and we know all of them, while using our brains to come up with even more ways.
followed by minesweepers
Perfect opportunity for a US Liberty-style false-flag attack.
Plastic hull or wood mine sweepers are 20th century tech and are obsolete.
We have UUVs from virtually any platform well outside the area of influence of the mine field now. You don’t send men into a mine field you send drones in the 21st century my guy.
We have sub launched and recovered UUVs every one of them was designed with laying mines and anti missions from day one it is why they exist.
There is at least one SSGN in the Med the Ohio she would need to cross the Suez which she has before to get to the Red Sea, but we assuredly keep another SSGN in the Indian Ocean at all times or the South China Sea near Taiwan. She could easily be under the straight clearing mines with her seahorse and other UUVs and let’s not forget dual dry dock lock out chambers and up to 110 UDT team divers on board and no one would know she is there.
Same for the Jimmy Carter and her DDS and we have a slew of 688I and Virginia boats that are DDS compatible every one of them can covertly launch and recover UUV and UDT divers for anti mine work. The Navy also publicity released they can deploy and recover UUVs from regular torpedo tubes off any boat remember every UUV was from the beginning a mine laying and mine killing machine it’s why they exist.
The Navy and the Brits even went so far as to prove the current MCM teams can operate off any vessel of opportunity with a simple hoist to lower and raise the UUVs every ship this side of 100 tonnes DWT has a standard marine hoist for lifeboats every single one.
Those Burkes were a political message the path was cleared from below for sure.
If the Iranians had anything they would have shot at our destroyers and did not. Sounds like a giant bluff.
Yes! Great post everyone should read!
This is how the Navy does mine hunting now. Program fully procured we have 16 teams and unknown submarine based teams. The MK18 is the surface launch version the MK19 is the dry dock version for Virginia and SSGNs and the MK20 is the torpedo tube version for all other subs. The Navy got this.
Like I said mines were cleared from below for the Burkes bank on that, the question is was it from shore as the MK18s can be beach launched or pier launched or did we sneak some Virginia class or a SSGN under the straight and using UDT divers and MK19s clear the path. OPSEC means we won’t know till well after the war but it’s clear you do not send over a billion dollars in hardware through a uncleared mine field at full speed with AIS broadcasting for all the world to see. The last part was why it was a political message with AIS the whole world shipping community just saw the paths of those ships across contested waters.
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2023/02/us-navy-and-hii-complete-production-of-mk-18-mod-2-uuv/
The only thing that should be left of Iran is a name in a history book.
They are a world problem.
Oh do dry up.
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