EL7.AI
CommoditiesMediumUpdated×2•Originally published 30 October 2026•Updated 30 October 2026•
2 min read

Two sticky bombs disable tanker in Hormuz and ignite engine room

Key Facts

1A small boat attached two explosive devices to a tanker’s hull in Hormuz, igniting a fire in the engine room and temporarily disabling it.
2The incident occurred 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab; maritime security sources named the tanker Louise 1, which flies the Panamanian flag.
3An Indian minister said the tanker was carrying 27 Indian sailors and that they and the crew were well and uninjured.
4Iran said three tankers struck mines and caught fire during the previous 24 hours; the Associated Press could not confirm the account.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations said a small boat attached two explosive devices to the hull of a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, October 29, causing a fire in the engine room and temporarily disabling the vessel. Reuters, citing maritime security sources, reported that the tanker was the Panama-flagged Louise 1. The authority said the crew was safe and the fire had been extinguished, adding that there was no environmental pollution and the tanker continued on to its next port of call. India's minister for ports, shipping and waterways said the vessel was carrying 27 Indian sailors and that they and the rest of the crew were all well and uninjured. The incident combined a temporary disruption to a tanker transiting the strait with the crew's safety and the resumption of the voyage after the fire was extinguished.

The incident occurred 25 nautical miles northeast of Oman's Khasab, Reuters reported, citing the UK Maritime Trade Operations. Maritime security sources named the tanker Louise 1, while India's minister said it was called MT Louise 1 and flew the Panamanian flag. Reuters described the incident as the first successful use of sticky explosives in the waterway since the US-Iran war began in February. That description places the incident among developments in maritime security in the strait since the war began, noting that the devices struck the tanker's hull and caused a fire in the engine room. The approach of a small boat to a transiting tanker, the placement of explosives and the boat's subsequent withdrawal raised security concerns, Reuters reported, citing Marisks.

In a separate account from the attack on Louise 1, Iran said three oil tankers struck mines and caught fire during the previous 24 hours as they tried to leave the strait via a route it described as unauthorized. The Associated Press reported that the Iranian navy said the tankers had disrupted radar and navigation systems and ignored warnings. The navy added that the damaged vessels were left off the strait's southern coast. The agency said it could not confirm the Iranian report; the report also did not name the tankers or provide details about injuries. This account remains separate from the Louise 1 incident described by maritime security sources, and the facts in the two reports do not combine them into a single incident.