Iran Steps Up Hormuz Attacks, at Least 12 Tankers Hit in a Week

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday it struck a supertanker attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz with its transponders switched off. Seatrade reported a separate Iranian claim that a supertanker had been hit; neither incident has been confirmed. The claims came as UK Maritime Trade Operations issued delayed reports covering six vessels struck on Sunday.

The UKMTO reports covered five tankers and a container ship, with five incidents in the strait and one near Oman's Sohar anchorage. The agency reclassified the Sohar incident from suspicious activity to an attack after confirming a tanker had been struck by a drone, and local authorities assisted in evacuating the crew. In a separate incident, an outbound tanker was damaged on its port side, though all crew members were reported safe.

At least 12 attacks on oil, liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas tankers occurred around the strait between September 28 and October 5, Reuters reported, citing maritime security sources. The International Maritime Organisation recorded nine vessel-related incidents in the same period, reflecting differences in verification and reporting. The US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Centre said the sustained increase showed Iran's intent to assert its presence along key transit lanes and maintain pressure on transiting vessels.

Earlier this month, a crude tanker was struck while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and a vessel reported being hit by projectiles about 95km north of Madinat Ash Shamal in Qatar, with casualties reported. The Panama-flagged crude carrier Gem No 2 was struck by a drone about 25km west of Al Jazeera in the UAE; the resulting fire was extinguished and Indian officials said its 22 crew members were safe.

On Saturday, the IRGC said a crude oil supertanker struck a naval mine and suffered a major fire while using an unauthorised route with its navigation systems switched off. Shipping analyst Sal Mercogliano said video circulating with the claim did not appear to show a mine strike, as the vessel was stationary and there was no underwater explosion. The IRGC claimed any tanker that wishes to ignore the security and rules of the strait would face a similar fate.

Mohammadreza Naqdi, an adviser to the IRGC's commander, said Iran would close routes it considered illegal, including passages along Oman's coast, and was quoted by Fars news agency as saying the strait is closed and Iran's armed forces have full control over it. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected that assessment last week, saying commercial oil flows had largely recovered despite Iran's efforts to disrupt shipping. The Strait of Hormuz is open, he said, with almost as much oil flowing out now as before the conflict began, adding that Iran has lost complete control of the waterway.