Attacks on commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz hit a new weekly high. The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency received reports from 12 vessels between 5 and 11 October. That is the most in a single week since the US-Israeli war with Iran began.
The week before, 10 ships reported attacks. Six were hit on Sunday alone, the highest one-day figure so far. Four more attacks have been reported this week.
Oil shipments lose momentum
The rise in strikes has coincided with a slowdown in oil movements. Data from trade intelligence firm Kpler shows about 12.6 million barrels a day passed through the strait on 13 October. At the end of September, the figure was 15 million. Before the war, it was roughly 17 million.
Iranian oil exports have stopped entirely because of the US blockade of Iranian ports and ships.
Much of the Gulf Arab oil now moves through a shuttle system. Tankers load up, sail through the strait and hand their cargo to larger vessels in the Gulf of Oman. They hug the Omani coast. Iran calls that route unauthorised and wants ships to stay closer to its own shore.
Why Iran may be stepping up attacks
Experts say Tehran wants to regain control of the waterway. The US military has been escorting more tankers along the southern side of the strait. US Navy data shows the number of ships helped in the first 10 days of October was up 85 per cent on the same period in August.
Martin Kelly, chief executive of Orbital Risk Intelligence, said Iran has changed tactics. He described “near daily or multiple attacks every single day”. In his view, the aim is to stop ships and put others off.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy has also said its strikes will not stop at the strait. It announced a “new deployment formation” across the region, according to state media. Kelly said attacks are now reaching ships near the Gulf Arab coast and in the Gulf of Oman.
Attacks far from the strait
Some strikes have landed far from the waterway:
- On 8 October, projectiles hit a tanker more than 500km north of Qatar. Several casualties were reported.
- On 9 October, another tanker was attacked near Al-Jazirah al-Hamra in the UAE.
- On Sunday, a drone hit the Nicaragua-flagged tanker Petro Dolphin near Sohar Anchorage in Oman, over 250km from the strait.
Eleven Indian seafarers from the Petro Dolphin were rescued. Two are still missing, according to the Forward Seamen’s Union of India.
On Tuesday, the container ship GFS Pride sank after being hit by an unidentified projectile in the strait. All 21 crew members were evacuated safely. The Revolutionary Guard said the vessel carried “2,500 containers of contraband” and had used an unauthorised route.
US says traffic still moving
US Central Command said commercial traffic is still passing through the strait. It credited coordinated protection from US forces and regional partners.
