Iran's Revolutionary Guard Says 4 Tankers Hit and Set Ablaze, 3 Others Damaged by Mines
Key Facts
Iranian television, citing a statement from the Revolutionary Guard's navy, said 4 tankers were targeted and caught fire while transporting oil overnight from Wednesday into Thursday, the Associated Press reported. The Iranian report added that 3 other tankers struck sea mines, sustaining damage and becoming immobilized. The agency carried the announcement in its coverage on Thursday, October 22, 2026, amid continuing risks to oil transport through the region. The Associated Press said it could not independently confirm the Iranian account, while television provided details of the damage without information on casualties. The announcement comes as transits through the Strait of Hormuz by vessels without links to Iran declined in the latest period monitored by Lloyd's List Intelligence, with major owners and operators continuing to avoid operating in the region.
According to an October 22 update from Lloyd's List Intelligence, vessels without links to Iran made 104 transits between October 5 and 11, compared with 126 from September 28 to October 4. The decline included oil and gas tankers, whose transits fell to 81 in the latest period from 105 the previous week. These vessels continued to pass through the strait amid a shortage of ships available to operate in the region as major owners and operators avoided sending their vessels there. The firm said about 45 oil and gas tankers had moved into regular trading to help fill the shortfall. On the blockade of Iranian ports, the update quoted U.S. Central Command as saying that "138 commercial vessels have been redirected."
Describing oil transport operations continuing despite the risks, the Associated Press reported that shipments were moving at night along a route close to the Omani coast under U.S. protection. Ships sail during these operations with positioning systems and phones switched off, before cargoes are transferred to tankers waiting in the Gulf of Oman. The importance of maintaining supplies extends beyond the cargoes currently being transported, as the International Energy Agency warned that a prolonged disruption to Hormuz could render most global spare oil production capacity unavailable. Most of that spare capacity is concentrated in Saudi Arabia, according to the agency's paper on the strait. As for liquefied natural gas, the agency said there were no alternative routes for bringing gas from Qatar or the United Arab Emirates to the global market outside existing liquefaction facilities.
In the oil market, Brent spot prices averaged $114 a barrel in September, up $23 from the August average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The increase came in a month when the administration estimated that disrupted production in the region was at its lowest since hostilities began. Alongside production disruptions, the administration attributed additional upward pressure on oil prices to extreme tightness in the diesel market. It said this tightness was increasing refinery demand for crude to meet fuel demand, describing the situation as "extreme tightness in diesel markets driving up demand for crude oil." In an earlier session on October 8, Brent rose 4.1% to $104.28 a barrel, according to the Associated Press, as prices moved amid developments in the war.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects Brent spot prices to average $105 a barrel in the fourth quarter of 2026. The estimate appeared in the administration's Short-Term Energy Outlook released on October 6. The administration had completed the report's forecasts on October 1, before the Iranian announcement that tankers had been targeted overnight from Wednesday into Thursday. Its forecasts for the final quarter encompass a market facing additional refinery demand for crude because of tight diesel supplies. The administration is scheduled to release its next Short-Term Energy Outlook on November 10, 2026.