Tanker Fires and Ship Attacks Near Hormuz Deepen Maritime Security Concerns

Synopsis

Since the end of September, there has been a noticeable increase in attacks against merchant vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency has recorded repeated times of being hit by projectiles and numerous fires on board the vessels, and at least 12 attacks have been counted on just one week in Reuters sources. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claims a super-tanker hit a mine on an unauthorised route. Most incidents did not involve any crew casualties, but 22 Indian crew members were rescued after a tanker fire.

A series of incidents against merchant vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz are bringing maritime security back to the heart of the conflict in West Asia. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said an outbound tanker was struck on its port side by an unknown projectile at about 1920 UTC on Saturday, October 10, causing a fire.

The second outbound tanker was struck, and damaged, the next day. All the crew members were safe and UKMTO did not seek to hold any one responsible.

A period of two weeks of strike action

The first week of the month was opening in a similar fashion. On October 1st, UKMTO reported that a third party reported that a tanker was hit during its transit of the strait and developed a fire. Security company Vanguard Tech identified the ship as the Kuwait-flagged VLCC Kazimah III, and all the crew were reported safe. The attack came after four tankers were attacked in 24 hours on September 28 and 29.

At least 12 oil, LNG and LPG tankers were attacked around the strait between September 28 and October 5, Reuters, citing maritime security sources, reported. On Friday, a projectile hit a projectile stowed aboard the Panama-flagged, allying GEM NO.2 crude carrier approximately 13 nautical miles west of Al Jazeera, UAE, and the fire was extinguished.

Six commercial ships were reported to be hit on Sunday, which was the largest amount in a single day since the beginning of the war, according to CNN citing shipping experts. Iran's campaign against oil shipping by the US gets underway as Strait of Hormuz attacks increase.

Claims and counterclaims

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy reported that an unauthorised navigation system was used by a crude supertanker, which sunk into a naval mine and subsequently caught fire. It said that it will not be the first tanker to “wish to disregard the security and rules” of the strait.

The human cost

Crews are the ones who are especially vulnerable to the danger. India is one of the biggest providers of seafarers and the United Arab Emirates National Guard (UAE NG) reported that 22 people were rescued from the oil tanker, all of whom were Indian nationals. The UAE's UKMTO had also issued a radio message to ship masters in the vicinity of Ras Al-Khaimah to get underway from their anchorages.

The importance of the strait

During peacetime, one-fifth of the world's oil and gas flow through the strait. Energy flows had been higher than pre-war at the beginning of October but the ship attacks seem to have cut back on energy flows, Al Jazeera reported. The National said the level of traffic at Hormuz had plunged to the lowest in two months. CNN's analysis said Iran was upping its game with tanker attacks to regain leverage over the vital waterway.

What to watch

The peace process to halt the broader conflict has stalled, Al Jazeera reports. Near term evidence will be provided by UKMTO incident notices, crew-safety reports, and data from vessels tracked. The continuing strikes place additional pressure on one of the world's most heavily trafficked energy corridors.