Two tankers attacked in crucial Hormuz oil chokepoint

Two commercial tankers reported coming under attack near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. The incidents were detailed in warnings issued by the British maritime agency UKMTO.

One vessel was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of the coast of Lima, Oman, sustaining damage to its engine room. Roughly three hours later, a second tanker reported a large splash and explosion in close proximity northeast of Khasab, Oman. No injuries were reported in either incident, though authorities have advised vessels in the area to proceed with caution.

For European economies, these incidents represent a direct threat to critical energy supply lines. The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly a quarter of the world's seaborne oil trade, making it an indispensable corridor for European crude imports. Any sustained disruption to shipping through this narrow waterway would immediately pressure regional energy markets and inflate freight costs for commercial shippers.

The attacks occur as military friction between Washington and Tehran intensifies. US forces renewed strikes on Iran earlier this week after a brief pause, targeting Iranian Revolutionary Guard command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone facilities, and coastal defence sites. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes aimed to "further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping, and neighboring Gulf countries."

Tehran responded by launching strikes on American military bases across the Middle East, hitting facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. This exchange follows 13 consecutive days of US strikes in July, explicitly designed to "degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz."

The waterway's operational status remains highly contested. Tehran effectively closed the strait following US and Israeli strikes in late February, despite a "memorandum of understanding" agreed between the two sides in June. On Friday, CENTCOM rejected claims that Iran had successfully reclosed the route. "Iran does not control it. Thousands of ships have sailed through the international waterway over the past four months," the US military said.

Diplomatic off-ramps appear to be rapidly closing. US President Donald Trump stated on Friday that he was "losing faith" in the prospect of a peace deal and threatened to hit Iran "very hard." "At some point, they're going to say, 'we just can't take it anymore,'" he added. For shipping companies and energy traders, such rhetoric coupled with physical attacks on commercial vessels signals that the risk premium on Middle Eastern oil is unlikely to dissipate in the near term.