(FOX NEWS) — U.S. Central Command says it is “communicating and coordinating” with ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

CENTCOM spokesman Tim Hawkins clarified that American forces are not “escorting” trade vessels, however. The U.S. says President Donald Trump’s “Project Freedom” remains paused.

“Though U.S. forces are not escorting, we continue to communicate and coordinate with commercial ships seeking to freely and safely transit the Strait of Hormuz, a critical international corridor for regional and global economies,” Hawkins said in a statement.

Project Freedom was a short-lived program that would have seen U.S. ships taking a more active role in escorting trade through the strait.

The main difference between Project Freedom and what the U.S. military is doing now, is defensive protection of these ships is not guaranteed or officially being coordinated, a U.S. defense official told Fox.