At Least 15 Ships Attacked in the Strait of Hormuz — The Guardian

At least 15 container ships have been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz over the past 10 days. Some vessels were hit by drones, while others struck mines. On Sunday, a vessel was attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade fired from a small boat 120 km northeast of the Saudi port of Jubail, The Guardian reports.

Sunk container ship and cargo search

Last Wednesday, a vessel travelling from Karachi to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates sank after hitting a mine, Iranian state television said. All 21 crew members were evacuated, and no casualties were reported. Dozens of containers from the approximately 2,500 carried by the vessel were spotted in the water.

Rumours that the cargo may have included iPhones and other expensive goods prompted fishermen and other people to search for containers. These assumptions were fuelled by AI-generated fake photos on social media. Javad Mokhtar Rezaei, deputy head of the cultural and social affairs unit of Iran’s cyber police, said that salt water and high humidity could damage electronic components, batteries and device screens. Meysam Doost-Mohammadi, spokesperson for the Iranian Mobile Communications Association, noted that transporting expensive phones by sea would be unusual.

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Reduced shipping and tanker strikes

According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, 12 vessels were attacked during the seven days up to Friday, October 16. Most recent incidents occurred near the Omani coast, on a route that Iran considers unauthorized. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claims the right to attack vessels passing through the strait without its permission or with their transponders switched off.

On Saturday, according to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, two oil tankers were hit, including a supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of oil. The Fars agency released a video allegedly showing a fire on a tanker, but its authenticity has not been independently confirmed. Another tanker was reportedly hit late on Sunday evening.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations recorded 254 transits through the strait in the week up to October 14: 125 vessels were outbound and another 129 were travelling in the opposite direction. This is approximately 70% below the level before the conflict began. Iran proposed reopening the strait in six days in exchange for sanctions relief.