When the Suez Canal closed in 1967 after war broke out between Egypt and Israel, 15 ships got trapped inside the waterway. They dropped anchor to wait for the hostilities to stop. The conflict ended quickly. Aptly, it was called the Six-Day War, but the canal remained closed for eight years.
When the ships were finally allowed to leave, in 1975, only two remained seaworthy. The rest were so rusted they became known as the Yellow Fleet.
History doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes. So what if something similar were to happen in the Strait of Hormuz? It’s a nightmare few contemplate and it’s certainly not my own base case. But nearly 90 days since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran all but closed the oil-and-gas sea route, it’s worth considering what seems unthinkable but has happened elsewhere. Call it historical science fiction.
