Nick Fountain

He is very keyed into this stuff.

I asked Ryan, hey, do you know what's happening with the Bright Pink ship, the One Majesty, the ship that might have Christian's books on it?

And he was like, no, we do have some containers stuck in the Gulf, just not on that ship.

But he did have some info for Christian.

And it was not good.

Apparently, when a ship is damaged like the bright pink ship was, the ship owner might use something called the law of general average.

Which means Christian and his comics publisher, their insurance company, could be on the hook for damages sustained to the bright pink ship.

But while we had Ryan on the line, might as well ask him the big question.

what does a potential toll booth in the Strait of Hormuz mean for global shipping and the global economy?

He was like, well, on one level, it might just mean one more fee that makes everything a little more expensive.

But also, it might mean a huge shift.

Because for 70-something years, the U.S.

Navy has been guaranteeing the free flow of goods throughout the world's waterways.

How important is this freedom of navigation, freedom of the seas for global commerce?

Yeah, the modern global economy requires the free flow of goods around the world.

And that is in the balance right now.

Which might explain why the Trump administration has made opening up the Strait a priority in their negotiations with Iran.

And responded with their own blockade to prevent ships from going to and coming from Iran.

Because freedom of the seas is such a big deal.

And that would be an enormous shift.