Oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz are under near-daily shelling as Iran escalates attacks to halt the recovery of oil exports.
Eleven tankers were attacked while sailing through Hormuz in the week ending October 4, the most attacks on commercial ships since the war began in late February, according to data from the United Nations organization International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Five more tankers were attacked this week. Twelve sailors were injured when a tanker was hit by a flying object while sailing through Hormuz on Monday. The sailors are Indian nationals, and the On Peace is owned by the United Arab Emirates, according to maritime security company Malirisks.
“These actions continue to demonstrate Iran’s intent to assert its presence along key shipping routes and maintain pressure on transit vessels,” the Joint Maritime Information Center warned commercial vessels in a notice Thursday. The center is a coalition of U.S.-allied forces headquartered in Bahrain that monitors maritime security in the region.
A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards official said on Wednesday that Iran would cut off all “illegal routes” through Hormuz, according to Fars News Agency, a news outlet said to be close to the Revolutionary Guards.
The surge in attacks on tankers came as oil exports from the Middle East returned to pre-war levels in September, largely due to the U.S. military using the shipping route along the Oman coast to escort ships passing through Hormuz.
“Volumes are increasing, but they are being achieved at a time when maritime risks are extremely high,” said Michelle Wiese Bockmann, senior maritime intelligence analyst at risk management and monitoring provider Windward.
At least nine seafarers have been killed in ship attacks since July, according to the IMO.
“This is not a sustainable new normal,” Richard Mead, editor-in-chief of shipping industry trade publication Lloyd’s List, said at a briefing Thursday.
U.S. Central Command briefed shippers on Thursday about the situation in Hormuz. Centcom said on Wednesday that 20 million barrels of crude oil had passed through the strait, denying Iranian claims that the waterway was blocked.
Oil flows have recently receded as attacks increase. Exports through Hormuz in the week ending Wednesday were 8.5 million barrels per day (bpd), about 40% below pre-war normal, according to Kupler data released on Friday. Shipments from the entire Middle East totaled 15.3 million barrels per day, 10% below pre-war levels, the data showed.
Meanwhile, Iran has not loaded crude oil for export since late August due to the U.S. naval blockade of the Islamic Republic, Kupler said.
Iran struck deep into the Persian Gulf as the Revolutionary Guards warned it would not limit its attacks to Hormuz. According to state media Tasnim news agency, the Guard said it would pursue vessels across the region that violate Iran’s navigation rules.
A tanker was hit by multiple projectiles off the coast of Qatar on Wednesday, resulting in casualties, according to the British Coast Guard, which monitors the situation in the Gulf.
On Friday, another tanker, the Gem 2, was struck by a projectile off the UAE coast, causing a fire on board. The ship left Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, in March and has been in the Persian Gulf since the war began, Mariskus said.
Since the Iran war began in late February, 100 commercial ships have been attacked in Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, killing at least 24 sailors, according to the IMO.
