Number of attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz area reached a record level

From October 5 to 11, 12 ships were attacked in and near the Strait of Hormuz. This is the highest weekly figure recorded by the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) since the start of the war of the US and Israel against Iran. In the previous week, 10 ships reported attacks.

According to UKMTO data, six ships were attacked last Sunday – this is the maximum figure for a single day. Since the beginning of this week, four attacks have been reported.

Last month saw a recovery in oil supply volumes through the strait, but now this process has slowed down again.

BBC Verify specialists systematized incident reports published on the UKMTO website and compiled a chronology of events, relying on the dates of attacks indicated in each report. This is an approximate chronology, as in some cases the date of the attack itself was taken as the basis, while in others it was the date when it became known.

According to experts, Tehran is attacking ships in an attempt to strengthen its control over the strait, while American military personnel are escorting an increasing number of tankers through the southern part of the strait to protect them from Iranian strikes.

In addition, experts note that Iran is increasingly attacking ships beyond the immediate vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. Central Command, responsible for operations in the Middle East, announced on social media that, despite the attacks, "commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continues under the coordinated defense of U.S. forces and regional partners."

The consequences of one of the six Sunday attacks were captured on video. Footage taken by the crew of a small vessel nearby shows the Petro Dolphin tanker, sailing under the Nicaraguan flag, engulfed in flames.

According to Vanguard, a company specializing in maritime intelligence, the vessel was attacked by a drone near the port of Sohar in Oman – more than 250 km from the Strait of Hormuz. 11 Indian crew members were rescued, but two are still missing, reported the Forward Seamen's Union of India.

Attacks continued this week: on Tuesday, the container ship GFS Pride sank in the strait. What exactly attacked it is unknown. 21 crew members were successfully evacuated.

Павялічыць

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) published a video recording that apparently showed the sinking of this vessel. The IRGC stated that there were "2500 containers with contraband" on board and that the vessel was moving along an "unauthorized route."

According to U.S. Navy data, the number of vessels assisted through the Strait of Hormuz in the first 10 days of October increased by 85% compared to the same period in August.

Recently, most of the oil exported by Arab Gulf states is transported via a shuttle scheme: tankers are loaded, pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and then transfer the oil to larger tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

These vessels travel along a route that passes near the coast of Oman. Iran calls such actions and route "unauthorized" and insists that ships use a different route – closer to its own coast.

Thanks to so-called assisted transits, the volume of oil transportation from the Middle East in September almost returned to pre-war levels. This statistic does not include Iranian oil exports, which have almost completely ceased due to the US blockade of Iranian ports and vessels.

Martin Kelly, CEO of Orbital Risk Intelligence, says that Iran, having thus partially lost control over the strait, has changed its strategy and is now attacking ships "almost daily or even several times a day."

"The goal of these actions is to stop the passage of vessels and intimidate others," he believes.

The IRGC Naval Command, according to Iranian state media, stated that the strikes would not be "limited to the Strait of Hormuz" and later announced a "new force deployment scheme" in the region.

According to Kelly, Iran is expanding the geography of attacks, striking vessels near the coasts of Persian Gulf countries and in the Gulf of Oman.

Павялічыць

According to Vanguard, on October 9, a tanker north of Qatar was attacked by several strikes, injuring several people. This occurred more than 500 km from the strait. On the same day, according to Vanguard, another attack was carried out on a tanker near the city of Al Jazirah Al Hamra in the United Arab Emirates.

Verified footage shows crew members running across the deck and putting on life jackets, while a thick cloud of black smoke rises above the vessel.

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