Tanker Attacks Target Al-Faw and Basrah Anchorage

Two days of incidents near Iraqi ports have put tanker operators on notice. On October 20, an unidentified projectile struck a tanker approximately 30 nautical miles southeast of Al-Faw. Iraqi authorities had not confirmed the attack by the time reports emerged.

The following day brought two more events. A drone fell into the sea near an oil tanker in Iraqi territorial waters off Basra province. Separately, a tanker conducting a cargo transfer at Basrah Anchorage was targeted by a series of projectiles. No casualties were reported.

The incidents sit in the northern Gulf where traffic converges around the Shatt al-Arab and Iraq's main oil export facilities. Monitoring continues.

The attacks fit a pattern of Gulf escalation seen in recent weeks. Earlier this month, a tanker was struck off Qatar in a deep-Gulf attack, and in early October tanker attacks in the Strait of Hormuz hit a record-high week.