Tehran, Iran – Dozens of ships were attacked in or near the Strait of Hormuz in October as Iran and the United States compete to assert their authority over the waterway. At least 12 ships were attacked in the week ending on October 16, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported late Friday, with one important caveat. It said it was aware of more incidents in the waterway via other sources but could not verify them due to a lack of information.
The same pattern has been true for the first half of October. The month has seen the highest number of ship attacks since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran, which began on February 28. Of the 12 vessels that were confirmed attacked, the organisation said half continued to their destination or reached port.
One sank, two were disabled, and three were either damaged or had an unconfirmed outcome. The UKMTO also reported a new type of attack on Saturday. The master of a tanker said their vessel was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) fired from a small boat 78 nautical miles (equivalent to about 144km) northeast of Saudi Arabia’s city of Jubail, Eastern province, resulting in damage to the aft port quarter.
In recent months, the US has managed to increase energy transits through the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waterways through a shuttle system coordinated with Arab powers. But volumes have oscillated weekly due to rising Iranian attacks. Oil flows through Hormuz were at 11.6 million barrels per day (bpd) over the seven days to October 13.
This was about 68 percent of the 17.1 million bpd pre-war baseline, according to Kpler figures. On Friday, Brent crude also touched $110 a barrel for the first time since May in light of ongoing attacks. The situation has been exacerbated by the Iran-aligned Houthis’ attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure and their capture of the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
Expectations that the conflict between the US and Iran was escalating have also impacted prices. The US military has provided a starkly different outlook on the situation in and around the Strait of Hormuz, which accounted for roughly a fifth of global oil and natural gas flows before the war began. US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Brad Cooper claimed in a video message late Friday that despite the Iranian attacks, 400 ships and 100 million barrels of oil moved through the Strait of Hormuz over the past week.
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