Hormuz Tanker Attacks Hit Record Week

Twelve oil and gas tankers were struck in or near the Strait of Hormuz between September 28 and October 5, the highest weekly count since the war with Iran began at the end of February, according to maritime security sources cited by Reuters and a Sunday update from the US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center.

The previous peak was eight incidents in the week of July 13, per the International Maritime Organization.

Most of the strikes fell in the southern channel along the Omani side. On October 5, UKMTO reported four tanker attacks and one incident in which Iran's Revolutionary Guard hailed an inbound tanker about 11 nautical miles north of Khasab and ordered the master to reverse course or be targeted. The master complied.

The Kuwaiti VLCC Kazimah III was struck on October 1 and caught fire; five crew members were rescued. A separate JMIC report covering October 2 and 3 described a drone that entered a tanker's funnel and dropped into its engine room, starting a fire and cutting power. On October 6, 12 of 19 crew on the Panama-flagged MT On Peace were injured when the tanker was hit by a projectile mid-transit.

Attacks continued on October 7. The Antigua-flagged chemical tanker Acers was struck by multiple projectiles in the Persian Gulf about 51 nautical miles north of Qatar, per UKMTO.

By Tuesday, Kpler counted just seven tankers crossing the strait, the lowest since late July, and crude flows had dropped 27% from the wartime high of the week before, per the firm.

The JMIC said the attacks "continue to demonstrate Iran's intent to assert presence along key transit lanes." Mediators reported no progress in US-Iran talks held around the UN General Assembly.

In late September, Kuwait's government summoned Iran's envoy after two Kuwaiti tankers were struck near the strait, and Iran had expanded its non-compliant tanker blacklist to 81 as it stepped up transit enforcement.