A tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz was attacked on October 29 when a small boat approached its port side and attached two explosive devices to the hull above the waterline, UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said. The subsequent blasts started a fire in the engine room that temporarily disabled the vessel before it was extinguished and the ship resumed its voyage.
The attack, reported at 22:12 UTC roughly 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman, was the second incident involving commercial shipping in the strait within a matter of hours. UKMTO said it had earlier been informed by a Company Security Officer that a separate vessel was struck by an unknown projectile at 16:00 UTC while completing an outbound transit of the strait.
New Attack Method Targets Vessel Hull
UKMTO said the tanker was approached on the port side by a small boat that attached two explosive devices directly to the hull above the waterline, a method distinct from earlier missile, drone and mine-related incidents reported in the waterway this year. The blasts triggered a fire in the engine room, temporarily disabling the vessel before the crew brought it under control.
UKMTO confirmed the fire was extinguished and the tanker continued to its next port of call, with the crew reported safe and no environmental impact recorded. A separate earlier report of a tanker on fire and largely submerged in the strait, which had circulated among maritime security firms, was later clarified as involving a regional trading dhow rather than a commercial tanker.
Projectile Strike Hours Earlier
Hours before the hull explosion, UKMTO relayed a report that a different vessel had been struck by an unknown projectile while making an outbound transit of the Strait of Hormuz. No party has claimed responsibility for either incident, and maritime authorities have not attributed the attacks to a specific actor.
The lack of immediate attribution reflects a pattern seen in recent months, where commercial shipping in and around the strait has faced repeated attacks since the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict in February. Iranian military authorities have separately warned vessels against transiting routes they consider restricted, asserting enforcement authority over parts of the waterway.
Escalating Pattern of Incidents
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said separately that three tankers had struck sea mines, exploded and caught fire while attempting to leave the Strait of Hormuz via what it described as an unauthorized southern route. No independent maritime authority has confirmed that account, underscoring the difficulty of verifying competing claims in the contested waterway.
International Maritime Organization figures cited by Seatrade Maritime show 34 confirmed attacks on vessels between September 28 and October 27, mostly concentrated in the Strait of Hormuz, though Iran has also targeted shipping more broadly across the region in recent weeks. Despite the disruption, Middle Eastern oil exports including shipments through Hormuz averaged more than 24 million barrels per day in the week ending October 18, exceeding pre-war levels, according to Kpler data, even as flows through the strait itself remained below historical norms.
Why it matters
The hull-mounted explosive attack represents a new tactical escalation in a crisis that has already produced dozens of confirmed incidents against commercial vessels in one of the world’s most critical oil chokepoints. With attribution for most incidents unconfirmed, shipowners and insurers face mounting uncertainty over risk exposure, transit routing and war-risk premiums for tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz. The continued targeting of vessels, even as overall regional oil flows have held up, highlights the growing gap between headline trade volumes and the operational risks faced by individual ships and crews transiting the waterway.
Source: Seatrade Maritime News
