The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) issued four attack warnings and a separate advisory on 5 October as vessels continued to come under threat in the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing Iranian activity.
The latest incident reported by UKMTO occurred at 1637 hrs on 5 October. The three other warnings issued that day were delayed reports concerning attacks that took place on 3 and 4 October.
According to a report from the master of the vessel involved in the 5 October incident, the ship was struck by an unknown projectile, causing a fire in the engine room. The crew was still working to bring the fire under control when the report was issued. No casualties or environmental damage had been reported at that stage.
Two of the other incidents occurred on 4 October. At 1716 hrs, an LPG tanker was struck by an unknown projectile. At 1907 hrs, approximately two hours later, a crude oil tanker was also hit by a projectile.
The timing of the 3 October incident remained to be confirmed. UKMTO reported that a crude oil tanker had been struck above the waterline by an unknown projectile.
These latest reports come in addition to the 4 October attack involving Chrystal Sky, a product tanker that reported a series of explosions in close proximity to the vessel at around 1650 hrs.
Earlier on 5 October, UKMTO issued an advisory concerning suspicious activity after a ship’s master reported being hailed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The Iranian forces reportedly warned the vessel that it would be fired upon unless it turned back. The ship subsequently followed the IRGC’s instruction and reversed course.
The incident took place 11 nautical miles north of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz. Vanguard Tech identified the vessel involved as the Liberia-registered Singapore Energy.
The latest incidents follow a marked increase in attacks on commercial vessels in the strait over the past week. UKMTO has issued nine reports so far in October, including eight relating to attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and one concerning the Bab el Mandeb.
However, the growing number of delayed incident reports from UKMTO means the actual number of attacks may be higher than the currently reported total.
The escalation in attacks during early October comes as crude export volumes through the Strait of Hormuz have increased over the past month, approaching levels recorded before the conflict. Despite the recovery in export volumes, oil prices remain elevated, with new logistical inefficiencies and significantly higher tanker charter rates among the factors continuing to push up costs.
Iranian oil exports remain constrained by the US blockade of Iranian ports, a policy Washington has maintained since the US-Iran peace memorandum of understanding collapsed earlier this year.
At the same time, a US military threat that had previously suggested an “eye-for-an-eye” response destroying an Iranian tanker for every merchant vessel attacked by Iranian forces appears to have lapsed.
The United States has so far not issued a clear response to the recent resurgence in attacks against merchant shipping.
