New Reports Reveal Five More Ships Hit Near Hormuz

Five more commercial vessels were struck in and around the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, including a containership and four tankers, as attacks on merchant shipping continue to escalate across the region.

UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) disclosed four of the incidents in time-late reports on Monday, adding to an already growing number of attacks reported in recent weeks. Four vessels were struck while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, while a fifth tanker was hit by a drone near Sohar anchorage, Oman.

The latest reports include an outbound product tanker, an outbound crude oil tanker, another outbound tanker and a container ship transiting inbound through the strait. All four were struck by unidentified projectiles, according to UKMTO.

In one incident, UKMTO confirmed that the crew of an outbound tanker was safe, although the environmental impact remained unknown. The other reports provided no details on casualties or the extent of damage.

The fifth incident involved a tanker near Sohar anchorage that was struck by an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV). UKMTO initially classified the incident as suspicious activity before upgrading it to an attack. Local authorities were assisting with the evacuation of the crew, while damage and environmental assessments remained incomplete.

The reports follow a particularly violent weekend for commercial shipping in the region, including earlier attacks on tankers in Hormuz and a U.S. military strike that disabled a commercial cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman.

The new incidents also follow the release of the Joint Maritime Information Center’s October 11 advisory, which classified the security threat in the Strait of Hormuz as SEVERE, its second-highest threat category.

That assessment, covering incidents confirmed through approximately 1500 UTC Sunday, had already identified three recent tanker attacks in the strait, including one reported late. It warned that further deliberate attacks were highly likely and cited continued harassment, surveillance and pressure on commercial vessels by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The advisory also highlighted an expanding geographic threat, with attacks no longer confined to vessels passing through the strait itself. Recent strikes have targeted ships anchored off the United Arab Emirates and vessels operating elsewhere inside the Persian Gulf.

The widening pattern of attacks comes as commercial traffic through Hormuz remains sharply reduced despite U.S. efforts to restore shipping flows.

According to JMIC, U.S. Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping (NCAGS) figures showed approximately 29 vessel transits per day over the 72 hours ending October 10, compared with a historical average of roughly 138 per day. Independent tracking data indicated substantially fewer transits, reflecting differences in reporting and methodology.

The continuing attacks raise further questions about the sustainability of any recovery in commercial shipping through the strait.

They also underscore the limitations of official incident counts. With multiple attacks reported after the fact, even the most recent security assessments may not fully reflect conditions facing merchant vessels and their crews.

UKMTO has urged ships to transit with caution and report suspicious activity as authorities investigate the latest incidents.

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