2 oil tankers attacked in the last 48 hrs near Hormuz as Iran steps up maritime pressure: US responds

Two attacks on commercial tankers were reported in the past 48 hours around the Strait of Hormuz, as Iranian forces continued what a regional maritime security centre described as persistent surveillance, harassment and attempted disruption of shipping.

The Bahrain-based Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said its latest assessment recorded two incidents corresponding to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) warnings 122-26 and 124-26.

The first incident, UKMTO 122-26, involved the oil tanker Burgan, which reported a security incident while transiting the waterway.

The vessel subsequently anchored at a position about 1 nautical mile northwest of Jazirat Um Al Ghanam.

The second incident, UKMTO 124-26, involved another tanker that reported being struck by three unknown projectiles while completing an outbound transit of the Strait, about 17 nautical miles east of Khasab, Oman. 

UKMTO said there were no reported casualties or environmental impact and that authorities were investigating. 

JMIC said the incidents came alongside continued activity attributed to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including unmanned aerial vehicle overflights, targeted surveillance of merchant ships and occasional VHF radio hailing.

The pattern, the center said, indicates an Iranian effort to maintain a visible military presence along critical shipping lanes and keep pressure on vessels attempting to navigate the Strait.

The latest incidents are particularly significant because they involve both inbound and outbound commercial traffic, underscoring the continuing risk to ships approaching or leaving the world's most important oil chokepoint. 

Commercial traffic through the Strait remained far below normal levels, although JMIC recorded a modest increase from the recent lows.

Independent vessel-tracking data showed only single-digit numbers of commercial vessels transiting in each direction during the period covered by the assessment, reflecting the extent to which the conflict has disrupted normal maritime traffic.

The Strait normally carries roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption, making prolonged disruption a major threat to energy markets and global supply chains.

The tanker attacks come as the US-Iran conflict has entered a new and potentially more dangerous maritime phase.

US forces recently struck Iranian rocket-launcher positions on Larak Island, saying they posed an imminent threat to shipping and were being prepared for operations involving the Strait. 

Iran subsequently retaliated with ballistic missiles and drone strikes at American military positions in the region.

The latest tanker incidents raise the prospect that the confrontation could increasingly be fought not only against military targets, but around commercial shipping itself.

For shipowners and crews, the message from the latest JMIC assessment is stark: Hormuz remains open, but it is far from normal.

In retaliation for the Iranian threats, the US military unleashed fresh attacks on Iranian radar and air-defence systems and other military infrastructure, with particular attention to capabilities that could threaten shipping or US forces, even as the Central Command keeps the blockade on Iranian ports.

The strikes come after Sunday's US attack on two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, a strategically located Iranian island near the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command said that operation targeted Iranian forces preparing to lay mines in the waterway.

The US has intensified its focus on preventing Iran from using mines, missiles, small boats and other relatively inexpensive weapons to disrupt commercial traffic through Hormuz.

The strait is one of the world's most important energy chokepoints, carrying a large share of global oil and gas shipments.