Iran says four oil tankers caught fire after striking mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a claim that directly challenges US assurances that the main shipping lanes through the waterway have been cleared.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday, 29 October, that over the previous 24 hours three “violating” oil tankers had exploded and caught fire after hitting mines while trying to pass through what it called the “unauthorised southern route” of the strait, AFP reported. According to the IRGC, the ships had switched off their radar and navigation systems and ignored warnings from its navy.
Later the same day, Iran’s army said a fourth tanker had caught fire east of the strait after hitting mines while “operating in a restricted and dangerous area”.
Read more: Tanker Catches Fire in Strait of Hormuz After Mystery Strike
Iran did not name the vessels, and its account has not been independently confirmed. AFP said it could not immediately establish whether ships reported by maritime authorities that day were among the four.
Limpet mines off Oman
The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) reported that a small boat approached a tanker as it was leaving the strait, about 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab in Oman, and attached two explosive devices to its hull above the waterline.
The blasts caused a fire in the engine room and temporarily disabled the ship. UKMTO said the crew was safe, the fire had been put out, there was no environmental impact and the vessel had continued to its next port.
Three maritime security sources told Reuters the ship was the Panama-flagged tanker Louise 1 and that it had been hit by limpet mines, the first known successful use of such explosives in the waterway since the US war with Iran began in February. Two of the sources said a similar attempt in September failed because the devices did not explode. No one has claimed responsibility.
The Louise 1 was also struck by Ukrainian naval drones in the Black Sea in July, over what Ukraine’s SBU security service said was its role in carrying Russian oil as part of Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet, Reuters reported.
UKMTO separately reported a vessel on fire in the strait not far from the Omani coast, and earlier a tanker hit by a “projectile of unknown type” in the same area, AFP reported. A traditional Gulf dhow also sank after what UKMTO described as a “security incident”. Its crew was evacuated safely.
‘Prove it with independent evidence’
US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said that the main shipping routes through the strait are now free of Iranian mines thanks to the efforts of US forces.
Iran rejected that. “Prove the claim that the Strait of Hormuz has been cleared of mines with independent evidence, not a statement,” IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi said, as quoted by CNBC. The IRGC also said the restricted route was mined and that shipowners and crews were responsible for choosing to use it, according to AFP.
The strait carried about a fifth of the world’s energy supplies before the war, but traffic has fallen to single-digit daily transits since fighting began in late February, CNBC reported.
Fears of new strikes
The incidents come amid reports that Washington is weighing renewed military action against Iran. The Wall Street Journal reported that Admiral Brad Cooper, the top US commander in the region, briefed President Donald Trump on military options for Iran during a rare in-person visit to the White House, CNBC reported.
At the same time, Vice President JD Vance sent a letter through Qatari mediators to Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, proposing a framework for talks. Asked whether he had directed the outreach, Trump said “no”.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, meanwhile, claimed six operations against airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities did not confirm the attacks, but said their air defences intercepted a Houthi drone launched towards the Mecca region.
Why it matters for Greek shipping
Greek-owned ships have already been caught up in the violence this month. On 4 October, the Liberian-flagged tanker Lipsi, managed by George Prokopiou’s Dynacom Tankers, was hit by an unknown projectile while leaving the strait, damaging its engine room and leaving it without propulsion, Dealnews and Dimokratia reported. A day later, the Greek-flagged LNG carrier Maran Gas Mystras of the Angelicoussis group was struck off Oman. It was hit by an unidentified object, and all 30 crew, including 11 Greeks among them the captain, were unhurt, Kathimerini reported.
Greece-based maritime risk firm Marisks warned that a small craft being able to approach a transiting tanker, plant explosives and withdraw “presents a significant security concern, particularly in the Strait’s congested shipping lanes”. It described the method as “cheap, low tech and very efficient”, Reuters reported.
Safety at sea was also at the centre of Friday’s 24-hour strike by Greek seafarers, whose unions are demanding that dangerous sea areas be recognised as war zones. The Panhellenic Seamen’s Union (PENEN) said it had counted 28 attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf in the first 21 days of October, a figure that has not been independently verified.
Read more: Greek LNG Carrier Struck Leaving Strait of Hormuz; Crew Unhurt and Ferry Strike Ties Up Ships at Greece’s Biggest Ports
(Sources: AFP, Reuters, CNBC, UKMTO
