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A Maersk container ship loaded with cargo containers sails out of port waters near the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals on March 19, 2026 in Hong Kong, China.Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Key Points
\nMaersk CEO Vincent Clerc shared how one of its commercial vessels was recently able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz under U.S. military protection.
\nHe described the operation as \u201ca very well executed mission\u201d by the U.S. military, before adding: \u201cAnd thank God for that.\u201d
\nIt came about as the U.S. Navy sought to deliver on President Donald Trump\u2019s short-lived \u201cProject Freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Maersk container ship loaded with cargo containers sails out of port waters near the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals on March 19, 2026 in Hong Kong, China.
Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty Images<\/p>\n
The chief executive of Maersk, one of the world\u2019s largest shipping companies, said Thursday that one of its commercial vessels was able to\u00a0successfully pass\u00a0through the\u00a0Strait of Hormuz\u00a0thanks to a \u201cvery well executed mission\u201d by the U.S. Navy.<\/p>\n
Maersk confirmed earlier in the week that Alliance Fairfax, a U.S.-flagged ship operated by Farrell Lines, a subsidiary of Maersk Line Ltd., or MLL, completed its transit through the narrow waterway and the Persian Gulf without incident on Monday, accompanied by the U.S. military.<\/p>\n
In doing so, the vessel became one of a relatively small number of ships to have safely passed through the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Israeli-led\u00a0war against Iran\u00a0started on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n
Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said the company had deliberately taken a \u201cvery cautious approach\u201d during the Middle East crisis, opting not to take any crossings despite several of its ships being left stranded in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this case here, we were approached by the U.S. government and the U.S. Navy specifically saying that they wanted to take some ships out,\u201d Clerc told CNBC\u2019s \u201cSquawk Box Europe\u201d on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe went through intense preparation together with them, looked at all the aspects of the mission and whether we could stand-in for the safety of the crew if we were sending the ship along in that operation,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, a very well executed mission by the U.S. military. And thank God for that, because then it means that the ship is free, and the crew now can get back to doing the work that they want to do and are supposed to do \u2014 rather than be stuck in the Gulf,\u201d Clerc said.<\/p>\n
The mission came about as the U.S. military sought to deliver on President Donald Trump\u2019s short-lived \u201cProject Freedom,\u201d an initiative designed to free ships that had been stranded by Iran\u2019s closure of the strait, a narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.<\/p>\n
U.S. Central Command\u00a0said\u00a0via social media on Monday that two U.S.-flagged merchant vessels had successfully transited through the Strait of Hormuz, adding that U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers were operating in the region.<\/p>\n
Trump subsequently called off \u201cProject Freedom\u201d on Tuesday, however, saying in a social media post that the movement of ships through the key maritime chokepoint would be paused to see whether the U.S. and Iran could agree to bring an end to the conflict.<\/p>\n
Maersk\u2019s CEO said the company still has eight ships trapped in the Persian Gulf, noting this is a small number relative to its size.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut this is obviously a situation where eventually we\u2019re going to need to find a solution for all of these ships,\u201d Clerc said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of them are supposed to stay in the Gulf and work there to move cargo inside the Gulf, but for most of them, they are trapped, and we would like to be able to employ them outside the Gulf, rather than have them stuck there,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Maersk also\u00a0reported\u00a0underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $1.75 billion for the first three months of the year, in line with a consensus estimate compiled by LSEG. It marked a 35% decline from the same period a year earlier.<\/p>\n
\u2014 CNBC\u2019s Chloe Taylor contributed to this report.<\/p>\n