Two Explosions Disable Panama-Flagged Tanker in Strait of Hormuz, Then It Resumes Sailing
Key Facts
The tanker LOUISE 1 was hit by two explosions in the Strait of Hormuz, starting a fire in the engine room and temporarily disabling the vessel before it resumed sailing to its next port of call, according to a UKMTO warning. The agency said the fire was extinguished and the tanker continued its voyage. Reuters reported that the vessel flies the Panama flag, has been used to transport Russian oil and is part of what is known as the shadow fleet. The agency’s report said the crew was safe and there was no environmental impact. It was not immediately known who was behind the attack, Reuters reported.
The UKMTO warning described what was attached to the vessel’s hull as “explosive devices,” without specifying their type. Maritime security sources cited by Reuters said they were limpet mines, a description the agency did not attribute to the official warning. UKMTO said the explosions caused an engine-room fire and temporarily disabled the tanker, after which the fire was reported extinguished. The vessel was then continuing to its next port of call. The warning did not identify a power outage; it only said the vessel was temporarily disabled.
Reuters reported that this was the first known successful strike using limpet mines in the region since the U.S.-Iran war began in February. The attack places the incident in the context of rising security risks associated with navigation through the strait, according to the characterization of the maritime security sources cited in the report. In September, a separate attempt to use devices of this type preceded the incident, but they did not detonate, Reuters reported. The shift from an attempt that failed to detonate to a successful strike marks a development in the sequence of incidents described in the report. The report did not identify who carried out the October attack.
Reuters quoted maritime risk management group Marisks as saying that a small boat’s ability to approach a passing tanker, place explosives on it and withdraw raised “significant security concerns,” particularly in the strait’s congested shipping lanes. The warning focused on the approach and withdrawal, as well as the damage to the engine room. The group said limpet mines were first used in the region in 2017 and were later used against tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. This context provides historical background to the incident, while the September episode reported by Reuters shows that an earlier attempt using the same devices did not detonate. Marisks did not attribute the attack on LOUISE 1 to any specific party.
The tanker had previously been attacked in the Black Sea; Reuters reported that Ukrainian forces targeted LOUISE 1 with naval drones in July, citing what Ukraine’s security service said about the vessel’s role in transporting Russian oil. The earlier incident provides context for the tanker’s links to the Russian oil trade, but does not identify who was responsible for the Hormuz attack. In a separate report, the Associated Press said Iran reported that 3 oil tankers had been hit by mines and caught fire within 24 hours, but the agency was unable to confirm the account. The party that carried out the attack on LOUISE 1 remained unknown immediately, Reuters reported. The latest status of the vessel in the UKMTO warning was that the fire had been extinguished and it was continuing to its next port of call.