Four Tankers Attacked, Another Vessel Threatened By Iran’s IRGC In Strait Of Hormuz

Four tankers were attacked in or near the Strait of Hormuz, while another commercial vessel was threatened by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

UKMTO reported five separate incidents on Monday, October 5. Three of the attack reports were received late and related to incidents on October 3 and 4.

The latest incident took place at 1637 UTC on Monday.

The master of a tanker reported that the vessel had been struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The strike caused a fire in the engine room.

The crew was fighting the fire when UKMTO issued its warning. No casualties or environmental impact had been reported.
UKMTO did not identify who was responsible for the attack.

The agency also issued delayed reports on Monday covering two tanker attacks that took place on October 4.

An inbound liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker was struck by an unknown projectile at 1716 UTC.

At 1907 UTC, a crude oil tanker was struck by unknown projectiles.

UKMTO said both reports came from verified sources but were received with a delay. The agency did not provide details of damage or casualties and did not say who was responsible for the strikes.

A separate delayed report concerned a crude oil tanker that was struck above the waterline by an unknown projectile on October 3.

UKMTO did not give the time of that incident. Because of this, it was not clear whether it was an additional attack or whether it overlapped with another incident already reported.

In another incident reported by UKMTO on Monday, an inbound tanker was contacted by the IRGC about 11 nautical miles north of Khasab, Oman.

The IRGC ordered the vessel to turn around and warned that it would be targeted if it continued on its course.

The vessel’s master confirmed that the tanker complied with the order and changed course. Authorities were investigating this incident along with the tanker attacks.

The latest UKMTO reports came after a series of tanker attacks documented by the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC).

In its October 4 update, JMIC reported four confirmed tanker attacks between October 2 and October 3. All four involved vessels being struck by unknown projectiles while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

JMIC said attacks were continuing along the Omani side of the Strait.

In one incident, a drone entered a tanker’s funnel and dropped into the engine room. This caused a small fire and temporary loss of power.

Another tanker was struck on its port quarter. The vessel briefly lost power before continuing towards Fujairah with tug assistance.

A third tanker lost propulsion after another projectile strike.

U.S. forces continue to enforce a naval blockade against Iran.

U.S. Central Command said American forces redirected the 130th commercial vessel on October 5. The action was part of efforts to stop ships attempting to enter or leave Iranian ports.

CENTCOM said the blockade resumed on July 14.

The command also said U.S. forces had disabled three vessels that refused to comply with instructions. It said another 13 commercial vessels had been destroyed over the previous 12 weeks because they were either violating the blockade or were part of the IRGC’s shadow network.

References: iranintl, iranwire