Tanker hit off Qatar as Iran vows to close Hormuz bypass
A tanker sailing off Qatar's north coast was struck by multiple projectiles Wednesday, causing casualties, a British maritime agency said. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they would close a southern route ships use to slip past Tehran's blockade. Brent crude climbed above $100 a barrel as tanker attacks reached their highest weekly level of the war.
A tanker in the Gulf was struck by "multiple projectiles" Wednesday about 58 miles north of Madinat ash Shamal, on Qatar's north coast, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said. It reported casualties but gave no numbers and did not say where the ship was from. The spot is about 300 miles west of the Strait of Hormuz, The Guardian reported.
Attacks that far west are unusual. Al Jazeera, citing the shipping publication The Maritime Executive, said it was the first reported tanker attack in the western half of the Gulf in weeks. Qatar had not commented.
The strike came as Iran threatened to squeeze the strait further. Mohammadreza Naqdi, an adviser to the Revolutionary Guards commander, told the Fars news agency that "illegal" routes would soon be closed. He pointed to a southern path that hugs Oman's coast. "The strait of Hormuz is closed," he said.
At the same time, Iran says it has a deal with Oman. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the two countries agreed on map coordinates for "safe" routes in and out of the strait, Gulf News reported, citing IRNA. Gulf News noted that the deal does not by itself reopen the waterway or guarantee ships safe passage.
The two sides tell different stories about traffic. An IRGC adviser said about 10 ships a day now pass, compared with about 125 before the war. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran had "lost complete control" of the strait. Data firm Kpler says Middle East crude exports have risen back to about prewar levels.
Ship attacks are rising anyway. At least 12 attacks on oil and gas tankers around the strait were logged in the week to Oct. 5, The Guardian reported. UKMTO counted nine tanker attacks in the strait in the first days of October, half of September's total.
The strait has been effectively closed since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran began Feb. 28. Before the war, about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas moved through it.
What we know: A tanker was hit deep inside the Gulf, and Iran says it will close a bypass route.
What we don't: Who fired on the tanker and how many crew were hurt.
Where outlets agree The Guardian and Al Jazeera both report UKMTO said a tanker off Qatar's north coast was hit by multiple projectiles, with casualties but no numbers given.
Where they differ Iran's Revolutionary Guards say only about 10 ships a day get through, while Rubio and Kpler data say Gulf oil exports are near prewar levels.