Global attention has for weeks been fixed on the tensions in the Middle East , where the disruption of travel and navigation in the Strait of Hormuz—a narrow sliver of sea wedged between Oman and Iran—has sent shockwaves through energy markets. Around 20 million barrels of oil pass through the corridor each day, alongside nearly a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas supplies, and the resulting spike in Brent crude in March is already rippling through global travel markets, pushing up airline ticket prices as jet fuel costs surge in tandem. After the US military announced a blockade of all Iranian ports on Monday, April 13, Iran threatened to target ports in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, the Associated Press reports.…