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March 17, 2026
The Albanese government has said Australia "won't be sending a ship" to help the US secure the flow of oil in the Middle East, after Donald Trump warned America's allies he would remember which nations failed to provide support.
Transport Minister Catherine King said Australia was yet to be asked by the US to join its proposed naval coalition but ruled out joining the operation.
"We won't be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is, but that's not something that we've been asked or that we're contributing to," she told Radio National.
Opposition defence spokesman James Paterson said the response was extraordinary, coming from a minister who did not hold a national security portfolio.
"What does Catherine King know about the availability of our naval vessels that no one else in the government has disclosed?" he said. "Where is the Defence Minister, Richard Marles? If this decision has been made by the Albanese government he should front up and say so. If it hasn't, they should immediately clarify given the importance of the US-Australia alliance."
Mr Marles was unavailable but Assistant Defence Minister Peter Khalil declined to say whether the navy could deploy a vessel if Australia was asked to join the operation. "All these operational matters are determined by the national security committee of cabinet. I'm not going to get into hypotheticals about that," he told Sky News.
Australia has sent an E-7A Wedgetail early-warning aircraft to the Gulf and pledged to provide air-to-air missiles to the United Arab Emirates, but the navy has few viable options to contribute a warship to the mission.
Only the navy's three Hobart class destroyers are able to defend themselves against Iran's missiles and drones, and at least one of those vessels is undergoing critical combat system upgrades.
Australia has two remaining Huon-class mine clearance vessels a capability Mr Trump has called for but they are more than 20 years old and considered unfit to deploy on such a perilous mission.
The Albanese government also refused to send a warship to the Red Sea two years ago despite US calls for support to defend commercial shipping against attacks by Iran-backed Houthis.
As the government grapples with oil supply shocks, the shipping industry warned the nation was also exposed to wider supply chain issues due to a lack of progress on the Labor's pledge to create a "strategic fleet" of Australianregistered vessels.
Maritime Industry Australia Limited chief executive Angela Gillham said the industry was "incredibly frustrated" the 2022 election pledge was yet to be delivered.
"We need container ships, we need fuel tankers, we need chemical tankers, we need roll-on, rolloff vessels," she said. The World Bank also threw a spotlight on the health of global shipping, issuing an in-depth analysis showing Australia's ports were among the most inefficient of the world's 25 largest economies.
Australia ranked equal last when unloading ships requiring 500 to 1000 container movements, and took longer than the average to unload ships across nine categories of shipping container movements.
The average time in port for ships requiring less than 500 container movements was 11 hours for a vessel in a Japanese port, compared to 33.6 hours in an Australian port.
"Amidst hardware and hi-tech solutions, the human element remains a decisive factor in turnaround time. Effective labour management also involves avoiding disruptions, such as labour disputes, by maintaining a cooperative relationship with unions and offering incentives tied to performance and safety," the World Bank said.
Mr Trump ramped up his calls on Monday (AEDT) for a naval coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and protect shipping from Iranian attacks, telling NATO that the alliance faced a "very bad" future if member states failed to join the coalition.
He has sought help from seven countries, including "China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others".
US allies have been noncommittal on the request, while Iran was allowing Chinese vessels to pass through the strait, giving Beijing little incentive to offer its support.
Mr Trump said there had been "some positive response" to his requests for naval support, but some countries "would rather not get involved".
For those that refused, he declared: "We will remember.
"I really am demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their territory. It's the place from which they get their energy. And they should come and they should help us protect it."
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said more than a dozen ships had been attacked in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz since the war started, halting maritime traffic through the vital corridor.
'If this decision has been made by the ... government he should front up and say so' James Paterson Opposition defence spokesman