(LEAD) 2 U.S. merchant ships have successfully transited through Strait of Hormuz: U.S. military

▲ This file photo, released by AFP, shows cargo ships and tankers sailing off the coastal city of Fujairah in the Strait of Hormuz on February 25, 2026. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) US-Hormuz Strait transit

(LEAD) 2 U.S. merchant ships have successfully transited through Strait of Hormuz: U.S. military

(ATTN: ADDS more info in paras 7-10)

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Yonhap) -- Two U.S. commercial ships have successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Monday, as it is supporting an operation to restore freedom of navigation through the crucial waterway.

CENTCOM made the announcement in a social media post, after President Donald Trump said the previous day that on Monday, "Middle East time," the U.S. would kick off "Project Freedom," a mission to "guide" ships, stranded by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, out of the effectively choked-off strait.

"U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers are currently operating in the Arabian Gulf after transiting the Strait of Hormuz in support of Project Freedom," CENTCOM wrote on X.

"American forces are actively assisting efforts to restore transit for commercial shipping. As a first step, 2 U.S.-flagged merchant vessels have successfully transited through the Strait of Hormuz and are safely headed on their journey," it added.

Earlier in the day, Iranian state media claimed that a U.S. warship was struck by missiles from Iran, but CENTCOM denied it.

"No U.S. Navy ships have been struck. U.S. forces are supporting Project Freedom and enforcing the naval blockade on Iranian ports," it wrote in a separate X post.

The command has said U.S. military support to Project Freedom would include guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms and 15,000 service members.

On the first day of the operation, an explosion occurred on a Panama-flagged ship, operated by a major South Korean shipping firm, in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

It was carrying 24 crew members on board -- six South Korean and 18 foreign nationals. No casualties were reported.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation.

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