Guards navy reports two tankers stopped

Iran's Revolutionary Guards navy said on Friday that two oil tankers were stopped in waters south of the Strait of Hormuz after incidents in the strategic waterway. Reuters reported that the navy said the vessels had ignored radio warnings and tried to use what Tehran described as an unauthorised route through the strait. The report did not name the two tankers in the account carried on Friday, and no independent confirmation of the full Iranian account was available at the time of reporting. Iran also said on Friday that it had destroyed a United States unmanned vessel in the eastern Strait of Hormuz. There was no immediate confirmation from the US military, and that claim should be treated as unverified until an official US statement or independent evidence is available.

Limpet-mine attack confirmed by maritime agency

Separately, Reuters reported on Friday that a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was hit by limpet mines attached to its hull by a small boat, causing a fire in its engine room and temporarily disabling the vessel. Maritime security sources identified the vessel as the Panama-flagged Louise 1, according to Reuters, and said it was the first successful use of such explosives in the waterway since the US war with Iran began in February. The British navy agency United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the incident happened on Thursday about 25 nautical miles north-east of Khasab, Oman. UKMTO said the crew was safe, there was no environmental impact, the fire had been extinguished, and the vessel was continuing to its next port of call. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

Why the strait matters

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important oil export routes, linking Gulf producers with international markets. Repeated attacks on commercial shipping in and around the strait since February have raised shipping, insurance and energy costs, even when individual incidents do not stop oil flows outright. Traders and governments are therefore watching each new incident closely, not only for casualties or spills, but for signs of whether passage through the strait is becoming more restricted or more dangerous for ordinary commercial traffic.

Sources: Reuters | Reuters (limpet-mine report)