Tankers have been hit near the Strait of Hormuz, and oil prices jumped. Brent crude touched $118 a barrel on Friday. December Brent settled at $117.64, its highest since April.
Oman’s navy evacuated 25 crew members from a burning tanker on Friday. The attacks have raised fears about oil supply through the world’s most important oil route.
The attacks come as tensions between the United States and Iran stay high. Earlier, US-Iran Diplomacy: Vance Letter to Tehran Tests Talks Before Midterms showed how fragile the diplomacy around the region has become.
Louise 1: limpet mines in the strait
The Panama-flagged tanker Louise 1 was hit on Thursday, about 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab in Oman. A small boat approached the ship and fixed two limpet mines to its hull, Reuters reported, citing maritime security sources.
The blasts started a fire in the engine room and briefly disabled the ship. The crew put the fire out, and no one was hurt. The ship then continued its voyage. It was the first successful limpet mine strike in the strait since the war began in February.
No one has claimed the attack. The British navy’s shipping monitor, UKMTO, confirmed the crew was safe and advised ships to transit with caution.
Riti: 25 crew evacuated by Oman
On Friday, Oman’s navy evacuated 25 crew members from the Panama-flagged tanker Riti after it was targeted and caught fire. Oman said the ship was about 1.6 nautical miles from the Musandam shore. It did not say who attacked it.
UKMTO also reported a separate incident: a vessel struck by an unidentified projectile about 40 nautical miles south of Iran’s Lavan Island. Its crew was safe, and the weapon was not identified.
UKMTO has logged just over 30 attacks in and around the strait in October. That is the most in any month of the war, and twice September’s total.
Iran’s claims disputed by US
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed that several tankers hit mines on a route Tehran calls unauthorised, and said two vessels had been stopped. They named no ships and gave no details to back up the claims.
US Central Command disputed the claims. It repeated that the main transit routes through the strait have been cleared of mines. The Iranian claims remain unconfirmed.
The Houthis separately claimed missile attacks on Saudi oil facilities, including Abqaiq. Those claims are also unverified.
Oil price: $118 touched, but January contract lower
December Brent touched $118 on Friday, its highest since April 30, then settled at $117.64, up 2.4 percent. But the December contract expired on Friday. The January contract, which now takes over, settled at $113.43, about $4 lower.
Oil exports through Hormuz averaged nearly 11.1 million barrels a day in October, about 2 percent below September. In the week through Wednesday, flows fell to 7.3 million barrels a day, more than 40 percent under pre-war levels.
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