NPR.

This is the indicator from planet money.

I'm Darren Woods.

And I'm Patty Hirsch.

Right now there's a traffic jam in the Persian Gulf.

More than a thousand vessels are stuck floating

in the warm sun-kissed seas of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Dubai. Oil tankers, gas tankers, container

ships, bulk goods carriers. They're all trapped to the west of what has become the

world's most famous trade choke point, the Strait of Hormuz.

And there are a lot of reasons why these ships

are stuck there, all related to the war with Iran. But one of the biggest of all is insurance.

On today's show, we'll learn why the world's most boring financial product has turned into a

trade terrorist, hijacking the market in oil, which this week briefly soared to over $100 a barrel.

But don't worry, President Trump has a plan.

We will look into a solution to open the straight and bring the price of oil back down after the break.

Right now, Rachel Siemba says the Persian Gulf is a mess.

I would describe it as a parking lot, as pathways that are frozen.

These are pathways that are normally bustling that now have very few vessels going through.

Rachel is a fellow at the Center for a New American Security, where she focuses on economics,

finance, and security issues.

She says vessels aren't moving because they're worried about being attacked or seized by

Iranian forces.

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