On August 20, two U.S. officials told Axios that the U.S. military has quietly established a shipping corridor for vessels to enter and exit the Strait of Hormuz, moving millions of barrels of oil every day. Although the wider war remains deadlocked, the operation has achieved significant results. The action has been ongoing for weeks, and there are currently 15 to 20 oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz via the southern route along the coast of Oman, entering and exiting. The officials said that about 10 million barrels of oil are shipped out of the strait each day and enter the global energy market, but that figure is about half of pre-war transport volumes. The U.S.-led operation is helping to ease one of the war’s most severe impacts: disruptions to oil supplies, which has in turn driven crude oil prices sharply higher. The officials said that while the oil shipped through the strait is still below pre-war levels, it has already had a clear effect on global oil supply.