US Central Command escorted 40 ships carrying a record 18 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a published report. The convoy moved through the waterway as strikes between the United States and Iran flared up again. Roughly a fifth of the world's oil passes through the strait, so attacks on shipping there tend to rattle energy markets fast. The Navy has described these escort missions as protection for commercial tankers transiting the region.