LAVAN ISLAND, Iran — A vessel was struck by an unknown projectile about 40 nautical miles south of Iran's Lavan Island on Friday, October 30, and caught fire, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO) said. The projectile hit the vessel on its port side, Gulf News and Newsquawk reported from the UKMTO notice, and all crew were reported safe. UKMTO gave no ship name, flag or projectile type, and no one has claimed the attack.

Source: UKMTO via Gulf News

In a further report the same day, UKMTO said a crude oil tanker was struck by an unknown projectile while completing an outbound transit of the Strait of Hormuz, that authorities were investigating, and that vessels were advised to transit the strait with caution. In that report the crew were also reported safe and there was no immediate environmental impact, the agency said, in reporting carried by Hatha Alyoum English.

40 nautical milesSouth of Iran's Lavan Island — where UKMTO said the vessel was hit on its port side and caught fire
81 projectile strikesRecorded by UKMTO on ships in the Hormuz region since July 6, 59 of them on the southern route
30+ vessels hitIn October alone by October 27, the IMO count — double September's 15 confirmed incidents
~70% belowHormuz transits versus pre-war traffic, even as sailings rose to 122 outbound and 155 inbound over seven days

A day that began with a rescue off Oman

The Lavan report closed a day of Hormuz incidents that this site has already reported: earlier on Friday, Oman's navy evacuated 25 crew from the Panama-flagged tanker Riti after it was targeted and caught fire about 1.6 nautical miles off Musandam, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards said two tankers that had switched off their navigation systems were stopped south of the strait — a claim not independently confirmed. On Thursday, October 29, a small boat attached two explosive devices, identified by maritime security sources as limpet mines, to the Panama-flagged tanker Louise 1, starting an engine-room fire; that crew was also safe.

UKMTO's overview published on October 30 counted 145 conflict-related incidents since the war began on February 28, 88 of them involving ships in the strait through October 28. The International Maritime Organization's wider Middle East tally stood at 122 confirmed incidents and 24 seafarer deaths by October 30. Brent crude's December contract settled at $117.64 a barrel on Friday, its highest close since April, Reuters reported.

Why this waterway matters to Punjab and India

The Strait of Hormuz carries about a fifth of the world's seaborne oil, and the Gulf is home to lakhs of Punjabi and Indian workers and seafarers — the Louise 1 alone was carrying 27 Indian seafarers when it was mined on Thursday, all of them safe. What happens next turns on whether UKMTO or the vessel's operator names the ship hit south of Lavan, whether anyone claims the strike, and whether Friday's pace — a rescue off Oman, a fire off Lavan and a tanker hit on its way out of the strait in a single day — continues into the weekend.

Sources: UKMTO reports, October 30, 2026, as reported by Gulf News and Newsquawk and carried by Hatha Alyoum English, October 30–31, 2026 — the Lavan Island projectile strike, the outbound-tanker strike, crew safety and the caution advisory; UKMTO overview published October 30, 2026, via gCaptain — 81 projectile strikes since July 6 and transit figures; IMO figures via CNBC and Safety4Sea — at least 30 vessels hit in October and 24 seafarer deaths; Reuters, October 30, 2026 — Brent crude settlement.