>>. >> reporter: it's a tough question to answer, what we've seen in the spacecraft when there was threats, it was iran-iraq war in the ''80s that led to what is known as tank awards going through, ships were reflagged with kuwaiti flags him they were escorted by u.s. naval ships to get them through. it's a much more complicated picture today. but we know strategically, they have been preparing for this, saudi arabia, exports, down through the red sea, problems there because of yemen. we know they have developed a strategic pipeline that would allow them and does allow them today to export up to 1.5 million barrels of oil a day through a massive pipeline that bypasses the stait of hormuz.