UKMTO: Tanker's Engine Room On Fire After Latest Hormuz Attack

Iran has added to a rapidly-expanding list of strikes on energy shipping in the Strait of Hormuz with another attack on a tanker off the Musandam Peninsula.

On Monday evening at about 1637 UTC, the master of a tanker informed UKMTO that the vessel was hit by an unknown projectile, sparking a fire in the engine room. The crew was still fighting the fire at the time of the report.

No injuries were reported, nor any environmental damage. UKMTO advised shipping to remain cautious when transiting the area.

Eurasia Group analyst Gregory Brew assesses that Iran has hit 11 ships since last Wednesday - a new, intense campaign to stop GCC oil producers from getting their crude to market.

With extensive American assistance, UAE, Saudi, Kuwaiti (and more recently Iraqi) shipping interests have begun moving oil through the southern waters of the strait via "shuttle" convoys. Instead of exposing a large number of chartered tankers to high risk and high insurance rates, these producers are using a smaller number of risk-tolerant tankers to make round trips between loading piers in the Gulf and the busy anchorage off Fujairah, where these ships offload their cargoes onto more risk-averse vessels for long-haul delivery.

The shuttle method has succeeded beyond expectations, and objective counts based on satellite data showed that it had largely restored net Gulf exports to prewar volumes by the end of September. It remains to be seen whether recent Iranian attacks can dent the system's productivity, whether by physically disabling the tonnage involved or by deterring tanker owners and crewmembers from participating.