Attacks in Strait of Hormuz reach highest level since start of war

At least 10 vessels have been attacked in or near the Strait of Hormuz since Sunday, the highest number since the war between the United States, Israel and Iran broke out, security data showed on Wednesday.

Four vessels were struck on Tuesday and six on Sunday, the highest number of attacks recorded in a single day since the conflict began, according to data from security firm Vanguard, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the British maritime agency UKMTO.

Two seafarers have been reported missing, while a container ship reportedly sank in the recent attacks, according to maritime sources.

Merchant vessels transiting the vital passage were first targeted by Iran in March in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on its territory. Tehran has continued to attack vessels passing through the strait along routes it has not approved.

The attacks have disrupted shipping through the strait, normally one of the busiest routes for exporting oil and other commodities from Gulf countries.

A total of 23 attacks have been recorded since the beginning of October, almost double the average monthly number of incidents since the war began.

The United States said on Saturday that it had struck a cargo vessel as part of its embargo on Iranian ports, but the incident was not listed by the IMO.

The recent increase in energy exports, which nearly returned to pre-war levels at the beginning of October before falling again, may have contributed to the latest rise in attacks, according to Vanguard analyst Barun Gupta.

“Gulf oil flows have been recovering, with traffic through Hormuz recently returning to around 80 percent of pre-war levels despite the conflict.

“Increasing the tempo of attacks therefore gives Tehran a way of demonstrating that it can still disrupt that recovery and impose costs on commercial shipping and global energy markets,” Gupta told AFP on Wednesday.

He said US President Donald Trump's pledge last week not to launch further attacks on Iran before the US midterm elections could also be a factor, giving Tehran “a perceived window to increase pressure with a lower immediate risk of US military escalation”.

According to the IMO, around 24 seafarers have died in incidents in the area near the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict began.