ENG: US Navy escort ships at risk of becoming "sitting ducks" for Iran

The Dutch multinational ING Group stated that the US plan to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz is "good news" for the oil market; however, unless Tehran's military power is weakened first, the escorted ships may be at risk of attack. ING commodity analysts wrote in a report: "Naval escort will be helpful, but equally, this job will take time. Naval escort vessels will become targets for Iran's attacks. Therefore, the US may choose to wait for a while before sending escort vessels until it assesses that Iran's ability to attack has been weakened." ING warned that the longer the interruption in the Strait of Hormuz lasts, the more upstream production will be shut down.