Two more tankers were struck while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, with UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reporting that an inbound tanker was hit by an unknown projectile, injuring two crew members with minor wounds; the vessel remained under its own power and continued to its next port of call. Hours later, UKMTO issued a second warning after an outbound liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker reported being struck by debris from unknown projectiles. All crew aboard the LPG carrier were reported safe, with no environmental impact recorded.
The strikes extend a pattern first flagged by the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), which listed three separate attacks in the strait between September 16 and 18, including one incident in which a projectile breached a tanker’s hull and started a fire. That brings the total number of reported attacks or security incidents involving tankers in the Strait of Hormuz to at least five since September 16 alone. JMIC continues to rate the threat level in the strait as SEVERE, assessing that deliberate hostile action against commercial shipping is “highly likely” under current conditions.
Source: gCaptain — https://gcaptain.com/two-more-tankers-hit-in-strait-of-hormuz-as-attacks-mount/
Tags: Strait of Hormuz, Iran, Tanker Safety
