The threat to commercial vessels in the Mideast Gulf has increased following attacks on two tankers inside the Gulf on 16 October, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre.
Two tankers were attacked northeast of Al Jubayl, Saudi Arabia, with one struck by an unknown projectile and another attacked by a rocket-propelled grenade launched from a small boat, according to the UKMTO. Crews of both vessels have been reported safe.
The threat level in the Mideast Gulf was raised to "substantial" by the UKMTO following the incidents, noting that attacks in the region remain a strong possibility. Stationary vessels in the area are advised by UKMTO to consider taking steps to mitigate risks including "periodic repositioning within anchorages" because "even limited movement may complicate adversary targeting cycles".
Attacks against vessels in and around the strait of Hormuz continue, including two strikes against a tugboat in the strait on Sunday which caused a minor crew injury reported by the UKMTO, although additional attacks are likely going unreported.
Mine hit claims unsubstantiated
Attacks against vessels in the region have been reported by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as vessels hitting mines, rather than as projectile strikes, despite little evidence of this being true.
The IRGC Navy issued a statement on Monday, carried by Iranian state media IRNA, stating that a tanker attempting to exit the strait of Hormuz through the "unauthorized southern route in disregard of regulations governing transit through the strait" struck a naval mine, causing a fire in the engine room of the vessel.
The US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US forces in the Middle East, said on 15 October that a vessel the IRGC said hit a mine in the strait of Hormuz was actually hit by an IRGC projectile. The statement added that the primary transit routes through the strait of Hormuz remain free of mines.
UKMTO said in a report on Sunday that there is no substantiation to claims made on 17 October by the IRGC that two supertankers hit mines in the strait of Hormuz.
