Australia rules out naval deployment to Hormuz Australia will not send a ship to the Strait of Hormuz despite calls from US President Donald Trump for allies to help secure the key waterway, the country’s transport minister said Monday. Transport Minister Catherine King told the ABC that Australia had not been asked to deploy a vessel and would instead contribute by providing aircraft to assist with defence efforts in the United Arab Emirates. “Well, we’ve been very clear about what our contribution is in relation to requests, and so far, that is to the UAE – obviously providing aircraft to assist with defence, particularly given the number of Australians that are in that area in particular – but we won’t be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz,” she said.