OMM Newsroom
Reports of attacks on ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz have reached a record high, according to BBC Verify’s analysis of data from the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency.
Twelve vessels reported being attacked between 5 and 11 October, the highest weekly total recorded by UKMTO since the US-Israeli war with Iran began. The previous week, 10 ships reported attacks.
Six vessels were struck on Sunday, a one-day record, according to UKMTO. Four attacks have been reported so far this week.
BBC Verify compiled UKMTO incident reports into a timeline using the first date cited in each report. The dates are approximate because some reports give the date of an attack, while others use the date it was reported.
Two crew members missing after tanker attack
Experts say Tehran has been attacking ships to assert greater control over the waterway, as the US military increases the number of tankers it escorts through the southern part of the strait. They say Iran is also targeting vessels farther from the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military’s Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, said on social media that “commercial traffic continues to flow through the Strait of Hormuz with co-ordinated protection from US forces and regional partners”.
Verified footage showed the Nicaragua-flagged tanker Petro Dolphin on fire after one of Sunday’s reported attacks. The crew of a nearby smaller boat filmed the aftermath.
The maritime intelligence firm “Vanguard” said the vessel was hit by a drone near Sohar Anchorage in Oman, more than 250km (150 miles) from the strait. Eleven Indian seafarers were rescued, while two remained missing, the Forward Seamen’s Union of India said.
Attacks continued this week, with container ship GFS Pride sinking in the strait on Tuesday after being hit by an unidentified projectile. All 21 crew members were evacuated safely.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) released footage that appeared to show the same ship sinking. It said the vessel was carrying “2,500 containers of contraband” and had taken an “unauthorised route”.
Oil shipments fall as attacks increase
Oil exports from the Middle East have slowed as attacks on ships have risen. Data from trade intelligence firm “Kpler” shows that about 12.6 million barrels per day passed through the strait on 13 October, down from 15 million at the end of September. Before the war, the daily figure was about 17 million barrels.
US Navy data indicates that the number of vessels assisted through the Strait of Hormuz during the first 10 days of October was 85% higher than during the same period in August.
Much of the oil recently shipped from Gulf Arab states has travelled under a “shuttle” system. Tankers load cargo and pass through the strait before transferring it to larger vessels in the Gulf of Oman.
The shuttle ships use a route close to Oman’s coastline. Iran calls the route “unauthorised” and says vessels should instead take a route nearer its own shore.
Assisted transits helped bring oil flows from the Middle East closer to pre-war levels in September. Iranian exports, however, have completely stalled because of the US blockade of Iranian ports and ships.
Martin Kelly, chief executive of “Orbital Risk Intelligence”, said Iran had “evolved its strategy” in response to the easing of its control over the strait and was carrying out “near daily or multiple attacks every single day”.
“The aim here is to stop the ships going through and to deter others,” he said.
Iran’s IRGC navy has said its strikes would not be “limited to the Strait of Hormuz” and later announced a “new deployment formation” across the region, according to Iranian state media.
Kelly told BBC Verify that Iran was broadening its attacks to target ships near the coast of Gulf Arab states and in the Gulf of Oman.
On Thursday 8 October, a tanker was hit by multiple projectiles north of Qatar, more than 500km (310 miles) from the strait, with multiple casualties reported, “Vanguard” said.
A second tanker was attacked near the UAE town of Al-Jazirah al-Hamra on Friday 9 October, the firm said. Verified footage showed crew members running across the deck and putting on lifejackets as a large cloud of black smoke rose above the ship.
