Two limpet mines disable tanker in Strait of Hormuz before it resumes sailing
Key Facts
Maritime security sources said a small boat attached two limpet mines to a tanker’s hull in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, October 29, sparking a fire in the engine room and temporarily disabling the vessel. Three maritime security sources identified the tanker as the Panama-flagged Louise 1, according to a Reuters report published by MarketScreener. The UK Maritime Trade Operations said the crew was safe and the fire had been extinguished, after which the tanker continued toward its next port. There was no environmental impact, Reuters reported, citing the agency. Responsibility for the attack was unknown when the report was published.
The incident occurred 25 nautical miles, or 46 kilometers, northeast of Oman’s Khasab, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations. Reuters said the identification of the Louise 1 was based on assessments by three maritime security sources. The report described the attack as the first known successful limpet-mine strike in the region since the start of the U.S. war with Iran. A separate attempt in September had preceded it, but its devices did not explode, according to the report. The attack on the Louise 1 damaged the engine room and temporarily halted the vessel before the fire was extinguished and it resumed its voyage.
Marisks Group said a small boat approaching a passing tanker, placing devices on it and withdrawing posed a major security concern, particularly in the Strait’s congested shipping lanes. The group added that limpet mines were first used in the region in 2017. It described the method of attaching them to passing ships as low-tech, cheap and effective. The incident therefore fits a pattern of use of these devices in the region, while the identity of those behind the latest attack remains unknown. Marisks did not attribute the attack to any particular party in the comments cited by the report.
Reuters reported that the Louise 1 was also attacked by Ukrainian sea drones in the Black Sea during July. Ukraine’s Security Service said the vessel was targeted because of its role in transporting Russian oil and as part of what it described as Russia’s shadow fleet. The earlier incident places the same tanker in the context of a previous maritime targeting, but does not identify who was responsible for the Hormuz incident. The report gave no further details about the damage it sustained in the Black Sea. The circumstances of Thursday’s attack remained separate from that earlier incident, with responsibility still unknown.
A day earlier, Iran’s armed forces said at least four tankers caught fire after striking mines while attempting to cross the Strait. The timing of those incidents and the tankers’ flags were unclear, according to an Arab News report citing Agence France-Presse. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also said three oil tankers had exploded and caught fire in the 24 hours before its statement after striking mines. Iran’s account linked the fires to the use of a southern route it described as unauthorized, and accused the ships of turning off their radar and navigation systems and ignoring IRGC warnings. These are Iranian claims, while the report said U.S. Central Command had confirmed the removal of mines from the main transit lanes, and an IRGC spokesman demanded independent evidence of that.
The Strait of Hormuz typically carries the equivalent of one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas consumption, according to Arab News. The report said Iran had severely restricted traffic through the passage since the war broke out on February 28. This means safe transit through the Strait is central to maritime energy flows on which a large share of global consumption depends. The UK Maritime Trade Operations describes itself as a center providing verified and validated maritime security information to seafarers, shipping companies and regional authorities. In Thursday’s incident, the agency said the crew was safe, the fire had been extinguished and the tanker had continued on its way, while the identity of those responsible for the attack remained unknown.