Hormuz Ship Attacks Hit a Weekly Record as Iran Says a Supertanker Struck a Mine

The shipping lanes around the Strait of Hormuz had their worst week of the war. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre, known as UKMTO, counted at least 10 vessels attacked in seven days, a weekly high since the conflict began in February, according to CBS News.

Twenty-three attacks have now been logged since the start of October, nearly double the usual pace. UKMTO also warned it is struggling to report the true number, because most ships now refuse to report incidents.

How bad are the attacks around Hormuz?

NBC News said on Saturday that attacks around the strait had surged to a record high, cutting oil flows, hurting markets and undermining Donald Trump's hopes of cheaper petrol before the midterm elections. Last week's toll included a sinking, and our earlier report on two cargo ships lost near the strait has the background.

Most attacks since early July have been off Oman, where the US military has been escorting at-risk vessels, CBS said. This week's incidents have crept west and north. On Friday a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile off Saudi Arabia, and its crew were evacuated safely. A second tanker was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired from a small boat off Al Jubayl, damaging its stern. The crew were reported safe.

Did a supertanker hit a mine?

On Saturday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said a supertanker carrying more than two million barrels of crude exploded and caught fire after hitting a naval mine in the strait. The claim is hard to check. The TT news agency, in a report carried by Sweden Herald, said it has not been confirmed by other parties, and the Guards did not give a location.