Six ship attack reports near Hormuz reach record high as oil exports slow

Attacks reach a new peak

BBC Verify’s analysis of UK Maritime Trade Operations reports found a record number of ships reporting attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Six vessels were struck last Sunday, a one-day high, and four attacks have been reported so far this week.

The timeline is approximate: reports sometimes give the date of the attack, and sometimes the date it was reported. The analysis used the first date listed in each UKMTO report.

Tanker fire and missing crew

Verified footage filmed from a nearby small boat showed the Nicaragua-flagged tanker Petro Dolphin on fire after one of Sunday’s reported attacks. The Forward Seamen’s Union of India said 11 Indian seafarers were rescued and two remained missing. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps released footage that appeared to show the same vessel sinking. The IRGC said the ship was carrying “2,500 containers of contraband” and had taken an “unauthorised route.”

US escorts and competing routes

Experts say Tehran is attacking ships to assert greater control over the strait, as the US military increases the number of tankers it escorts through the southern passage to avoid Iranian strikes. US Central Command said commercial traffic continued with coordinated protection from US forces and regional partners.

US Navy data indicated that assisted transits in the first 10 days of October were 85% higher than in the same period in August. These vessels use a route near Oman’s coastline; Iran calls it unauthorised and says ships should take a route closer to its own shore.

Oil flows and wider targeting

Assisted transits helped oil flows from the Middle East move back toward pre-war levels in September. Iranian exports were not included in that measure and had completely stalled amid the US blockade of Iranian ports and ships.

Martin Kelly told BBC Verify that Iran was widening its attacks, targeting ships near Gulf Arab states and in the Gulf of Oman. Vanguard said another tanker was attacked near Al-Jazirah al-Hamra in the UAE on Friday 9 October.