Iran Says 7 Tankers Damaged in Strait of Hormuz as Maritime Attacks Escalate
Key Facts
Iranian state television said 7 oil tankers caught fire or were damaged in the Strait of Hormuz overnight on October 21-22, in incidents it said resulted from attacks or strikes on sea mines. The report cited a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy saying 4 tankers carrying oil were targeted and caught fire. It said 3 other tankers were damaged and disabled after hitting sea mines. The Associated Press said it could not independently verify reports of the attacks. The Iranian report did not mention any casualties, as Tehran's announcement came amid a rise in reported attacks on commercial shipping in the region.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations organization did not record the latest 7 attacks, according to The Associated Press. The agency noted that October had seen the highest number of reported attacks on commercial shipping since March, with some shipping companies reluctant to report incidents. In two separate incidents, the organization said in an advisory on October 12 that an outbound tanker was struck by an unknown projectile inside the strait. Its crew was safe, while the environmental impact was still being assessed. On October 18, it reported that a tugboat northeast of Khor Fakkan was struck by 2 unknown projectiles and damaged but continued on its way, with 1 minor injury reported. These advisories reflect separate incidents documented by the organization and do not substantiate Iran's account of the 7 tankers.
The Associated Press said Lloyd's List Intelligence counted 28 attacks on ships during October through the 22nd, the highest number since the war began. Even so, active operators in the Gulf have shown little inclination to withdraw. Oil tankers carrying crude from Gulf producers continue to transit the strait at night, using a U.S.-protected corridor near Oman's coast. The vessels switch off their positioning systems and phones during the passage, then transfer cargoes to other tankers in the Gulf of Oman bound for Asia. The agency said the nighttime route overseen by U.S. Central Command had helped restore oil shipments from the Gulf to levels close to those before the war, but at a higher cost in time, money and seafarers' lives.
Spot-market tanker charter rates had risen to hundreds of thousands of dollars a day by October 22, according to The Associated Press, signaling the rising cost of securing shipping traffic. This expense comes in a corridor that averaged 20.9 million barrels of oil a day in the first half of 2025, equivalent to about 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran have alternative pipelines, but the Saudi East-West pipeline and the UAE's Abu Dhabi pipeline can together provide about 4.7 million barrels a day to bypass the strait when supplies are disrupted. That figure remains below average flows through Hormuz in the first half of 2025. EIA data show the strait's importance is tied to the volume of oil passing through it, while bypass pipelines offer limited alternative capacity compared with those flows.
Brent futures settled at $116.72 a barrel on October 23, up 3.14% on the session and marking their highest settlement since April 29, according to Reuters via StreetInsider. Reuters attributed the rise to concerns about supply disruptions after Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and regional tensions. Futures had started the third quarter at $72 a barrel on July 1, then topped $100 on July 23, before reaching a peak of $109 on September 15; spot prices then hit a peak of about $132, according to the EIA. Brent averaged about $104 a barrel in the final two weeks of the third quarter, as markets weighed peace talks against the possibility of a wider war, the agency said. These moves place the October 23 rise within a period marked by price volatility and persistent geopolitical concerns.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy threatened to target U.S. military bases in the region if the United States continued helping commercial ships transit the strait, Iranian state television told The Associated Press. On the diplomatic front, the agency said mediators were trying to bring Washington and Tehran back to formal talks, and that both sides acknowledged indirect contacts were continuing after the U.S. president rejected Iran's proposal last month. The proposal called for ending the war and fully reopening the strait within a week if the United States accepted several conditions, including ending its blockade of Iranian ports. On October 18, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran's offer to reopen the strait within 7 days remained on the table. He added that the strait could open within 6 days if Washington accepted Iran's conditions, with talks to resume the following day.