Renewed Attacks on Vessels Near Strait of Hormuz Threaten Oil Export Recovery

A fresh wave of attacks on commercial vessels around the Strait of Hormuz is threatening a fragile recovery in Middle Eastern oil exports, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which is affiliated with the Royal Navy, has reported seven strikes on vessels around the waterway since 28 September, the Journal reported on Sunday. UKMTO reported another strike on Sunday, though it did not specify when the incident occurred. All seven vessels were attacked near the narrowest part of the strait, UKMTO said.

The renewed attacks come just as Gulf producers were pushing crude shipments back toward prewar levels, helped by US naval protection and earlier strikes that knocked out Iranian radar and communications along the contested waterway. The United Arab Emirates and other producers have been running shuttle trips — tankers loading inside the Persian Gulf, exiting Hormuz and transferring crude to vessels waiting outside the waterway — to keep oil moving.

On Saturday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy issued a warning to ships planning to use the US-backed route through the strait, telling them they would be targeted and destroyed. “Don’t trust US Navy and don’t use south corridor at all and don’t put your life in danger,” the radio message, transmitted on a public shipping channel and reviewed by the Journal, said.

Analysts cited by the Journal say the attacks may already be slowing oil flows, with firm data lagging because many ships are switching off their transponders to avoid becoming targets. The strait carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil consumption, according to Reuters.

Sources
– The Wall Street Journal — Oil Was Pouring Through the Strait of Hormuz Again. Then Attacks on Shipping Resurged.
– Reuters — Iran says Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until conditions are met