A tanker travelling southeast through the Arabian Gulf was struck by two unidentified projectiles on its port side, about 72 nautical miles east of Ras Al Khafji in Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Monday, in a report carried by Reuters.

Source: Reuters via DevDiscourse

UKMTO's Warning 192-26 recorded the attack at 23:47 UTC on November 1. The agency said all crew members were accounted for and no environmental impact had been reported when the warning was issued. UKMTO did not identify the vessel, name an attacker or specify a weapon type, and advised ships to transit with caution and report suspicious activity while authorities investigate.

The strike extends the danger well beyond the Strait of Hormuz into the northern Gulf, near the Saudi and Kuwaiti export routes. Maritime security reports counted at least six shipping incidents on October 31, three on November 1 and one more on November 2 — 10 in three days — across Hormuz, the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, according to InvestingLive's summary of the reports.

Source: InvestingLive

72 nautical milesEast of Ras Al Khafji, where the tanker was hit
10Shipping incidents reported in three days
23:47 UTC, Nov 1Time of the Ras Al Khafji strike, per UKMTO

The northern-Gulf strike followed a weekend of incidents in and around Hormuz, including a vessel hit by a projectile inside the strait on Sunday — incidents Awaaz Punjab reported earlier — and an unverified Revolutionary Guards claim to have hit two tankers on an unauthorised route. No claim has been made for the Ras Al Khafji attack itself.

What is solid

  • UKMTO confirmed a tanker was struck by two projectiles east of Ras Al Khafji, with all crew accounted for and no environmental impact reported
  • At least 10 shipping incidents were reported across the Gulf region between October 31 and November 2

What is only claimed

  • Who fired the projectiles at the Ras Al Khafji tanker is unknown — UKMTO named no attacker
  • Iran's Revolutionary Guards claim about hitting two tankers in Hormuz has not been independently verified

The spread of attacks matters far beyond shipping companies. The Gulf ports and sea lanes carry the oil and gas on which global prices depend, and lakhs of Indian and Punjabi workers live and work across Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the other Gulf states. The Ras Al Khafji strike came while Qatari mediators were holding a third day of talks in Doha on ending the US-Iran war and on a proposal to reopen Hormuz, and oil prices had eased in Asian trade on hopes for that diplomacy — hopes that each new attack on a merchant ship puts under fresh strain.