The Strait of Hormuz — just 21 miles wide at its narrowest point — carries 20% of the world’s oil every single day. Right now, it’s a minefield. In this video we break down the full story of the mine war that’s crippling global energy supply: how Iran is deploying AI-powered smart mines like the Maham-3 and Maham-7 using nothing more than small fishing boats, and how the United States and its allies are scrambling to clear them before the global economy takes another hit.
We cover the Avenger-class minesweepers — wooden-hulled ships built specifically for this mission, decommissioned and shipped to the scrapyard just weeks before the war started — and the desperate last-minute scramble to get the remaining four back from Japan. We look at the two Arleigh Burke destroyers, USS Frank E. Petersen and USS Michael Murphy, leading the clearance operation through waters they were never designed to sail. And we break down the $100 million AI drone program the Navy is betting everything on: the Kingfish, the Knifefish, and the autonomous surface vessels now hunting mines across the strait.
On the British side: HMS Dragon, one of only six Type 45 destroyers in the Royal Navy — a ship that can fire 8 missiles in under 10 seconds — now heading to Hormuz to protect the minesweepers. And the RFA Lyme Bay, a humanitarian support ship converted into a drone mothership in a matter of weeks.
Iran set up a literal toll booth in the strait. Charged ships in Chinese yuan. Captured container ships. And reportedly lost track of some of the mines it deployed. Even they don’t know where all of them are.
This is the largest disruption to global oil supply since the 1970s. The Pentagon says clearing the strait completely could take six months — even if the shooting stopped today.
00:00 – Inside the Mine War at the Strait of Hormuz: Drones, Wooden Ships, and a Blocked World Economy
00:32 – What the US Has Done So Far
02:39 – The Mothership Strategy — UK Steps In
03:12 – HMS Dragon & RFA Lyme Bay
04:24 – The Destroyers Inside the Minefield
06:21 – The Avengers — A Story That Should Embarrass Everyone
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