Hormuz Strait: Tanker Fires and Missile Strike Off Qatar

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on Thursday, November 5, that two oil tankers and a tug caught fire in separate incidents in the Strait of Hormuz. The same morning, the British maritime trade agency UKMTO reported that two unidentified projectiles struck a tanker about 50 nautical miles (93 kilometers) north of Madinat ash Shamal in Qatar. The sources we reviewed do not link the two events.

What does the Revolutionary Guard claim?

According to the Iranian account, all three vessels were using so-called unauthorized routes through the strait. The first tanker hit a mine while trying to cross the strait south of Hormuz. The second vessel, a supertanker, caught fire as it was leaving the eastern part of the strait. A tug that approached to help fight the blaze also caught fire.

The sources name none of the ships and give no flags. They do not say what caused the fire on the supertanker, and they say nothing about the condition of the crews. Everything known about the three vessels comes from the Guard’s statement and is reported in the sources as its claim.

What did the British agency report?

UKMTO said in a maritime warning that it had received a verified report of an incident on Wednesday at 23:20 GMT. Two unidentified projectiles hit the tanker. The agency said the condition of the crew, the extent of the damage to the ship and the consequences for the environment have not yet been confirmed. It advised vessels passing through the area to exercise caution and report suspicious activity. The authorities, it said, are still investigating. For this tanker, too, the sources give neither a name nor a flag.

Turkey’s Anadolu agency places this event in the context of a tense security situation after the US-Iran military conflict and ongoing concern for shipping lanes near the Strait of Hormuz.

What came before these reports?

On Wednesday, November 4, the Guard had already claimed that four tankers were destroyed after running into naval mines in a zone south of the strait that Iran has declared closed to shipping. The US outlet OilPrice.com writes that Iran is reporting a growing number of incidents involving vessels trying to pass along routes Tehran has not approved, and that attacks on ships in the region have intensified in recent weeks.

How much oil moves through the region?

Crude oil, condensate and fuel exports from the Middle East fell to 17.1 million barrels a day in October, down from 18.9 million in September, which was the postwar peak. The figures come from the analytics firm Vortexa and were relayed by Reuters. Flows have recovered considerably since spring, when they were at their lowest, but the security situation in and around the strait has worsened, with more attacks on tankers.

Tanker-tracking services warn that the October figures could be revised upward once shipment details emerge, especially for transfers between terminals. Tracking is also complicated by ships often switching off their transponders while transiting the strait to avoid being spotted, so movements are increasingly confirmed with satellite images.

There is no independent confirmation of the Iranian claims about the three fires in the sources. For the tanker north of Madinat ash Shamal, both the ship’s name and the condition of its crew are unknown, and the agency that received the report says the circumstances are still under investigation.