An Islamic Revolutionary Guards speedboat near a general cargo ship in the Persian Gulf during an Revolutionary Guards maritime parade, April 29, 2024.
Morteza Nicobazul | Nur Photo | Getty Images
The threat level to ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz has increased to “severe” following several Iranian attacks on tankers, the US-led naval coalition warned commercial vessels on Tuesday.
The Joint Maritime Information Center warned seafarers that a “deliberate act of hostility” by Iran was “likely under current circumstances”. The center is headquartered in Bahrain and coordinates between allied navies and merchant ships in the Middle East.
Under the terms of an interim agreement signed with the United States on June 17, Iran has agreed to allow commercial ships to safely navigate Hormuz. But Iran then launched a series of attacks against ships, using the route through the strait protected by the U.S. Navy.
“There’s clearly a struggle for control going on, because the only influence Iran has is control of Hormuz,” said Michelle Wiese Bockman, a London-based senior maritime intelligence analyst at Windward.
Qatar on Tuesday claimed responsibility for Iran’s attack on its liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker, the Al Reqayat, near Hormuz. Doha called on Iran to stop endangering the world’s energy supplies.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center received three separate reports this week of attacks on tankers in or near Hormuz. UKTMO is the Maritime Security Advisory Service.
Hormuz was divided into separate corridors controlled by the United States and Iran. Bockman said Gulf states are using a southern route that hugs Oman’s coast and is protected by the U.S. Navy.
But Iran’s military warned it would target ships that do not use the Iranian government-approved northern route. The ships are avoiding the traditional route through the middle of Hormuz, which is mined by Iran.
“This is part of a sporadic targeted operation by Iran to destabilize the Southern Corridor and send a message to Gulf producers not to send oil through the Northern Corridor,” Bockman said.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright argued last month that the U.S. Naval Corridor ended Iran’s ability to close the strait. Iran then used this route to attack cargo ships. The US retaliated with new airstrikes on Iran.
Ship traffic passing through Hormuz has increased since the United States and Iran signed an interim peace agreement, but remains far below pre-war levels.
Trade information firm Kpler confirmed that more than 100 ships passed through Hormuz over the weekend. Oil exports through the strait averaged about 4.3 million barrels per day in June, according to Windward data.
By comparison, before the war, more than 100 ships passed through Hormuz every day, and crude oil exports amounted to more than 15 million barrels per day.
“The strait is still far from fully operational,” Bockman said.
