The president of the United States, Donald Trump, threatened this Monday to hit Iran '20 times harder' if Tehran 'does something to stop the flow of oil' in the Strait of Hormuz, and assured that he is considering taking full control of the passage, located between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. 'What we see is that probably the LNG prices will rise, which means that the current cost of the inventory on the vessel will increase,' said the head of the Panama Canal. The Pentagon confirmed this Tuesday that it is studying 'several options' for future escorts for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, although it did not detail when these operations would begin in the strategic oil and gas passage. Between 20% and 25% of all maritime hydrocarbon trade passes through Hormuz. The administrator of the Panama Canal, Ricaurte Vásquez, forecast this Tuesday an increase in transit through this interoceanic route due to the blockades in the Strait of Hormuz due to the war in Iran. 'Traffic will grow and will shift from the east coast of the United States to Asia,' Vásquez assured in an interview with the US medium Fox News, where he highlighted the logistical capabilities of the Panama Canal. 'Over the years, we have been an important channel for transporting LNG (liquefied natural gas) from the United States to Asia,' he said, and added that 'Qatar usually supplies Asia, and after the war in Ukraine, most of the US LNG has been destined for Europe to replace Russian gas'.
