Three more tankers have been attacked near the Strait of Hormuz, marking a fresh escalation in the maritime confrontation between Iran and the United States as American forces launched another wave of overnight strikes on Iranian military targets.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) issued three attack alerts within 24 hours, including two involving tankers transiting the southern route through the Strait of Hormuz off Oman.
Security consultancy EOS Risk Group identified the vessels as ADNOC-operated tankers MT Mombasa and MT Al Bahiya, saying both were struck by Iranian cruise missiles while sailing through Omani waters.
One Indian seafarer aboard Mombasa was killed and eight others injured, including six Indians and two Ukrainians. Four of the casualties were reported to be serious. Fires on both vessels were brought under control.
The latest fatality raises the confirmed seafarer death toll in the conflict to at least 15, while another crewmember from the GFS Galaxy remains missing after an attack on Saturday in the southern Strait of Hormuz.
A third tanker was hit in the eastern approaches to the Gulf of Oman, matching a UKMTO report of a vessel struck by an unidentified projectile about 40 nautical miles north-east of Qalhat, Oman.
The tanker sustained damage to its starboard engine room, but all crew were accounted for and no pollution was reported.
EOS Risk said the latest incidents bring the number of merchant vessels targeted by Iran to at least six in the past week, following earlier attacks involving ships linked to Bahri, Nakilat and other operators as security in and around the Strait of Hormuz continues to deteriorate.
The attacks coincided with another round of US military action. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces carried out a five-hour operation overnight, striking military sites in Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa and Bandar Abbas.
The targets included coastal defence systems, missile and drone sites, and other maritime capabilities aimed at reducing Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.
The operation was the fifth consecutive round of US strikes since last month’s collapse of a Washington-Tehran memorandum of understanding that had briefly halted hostilities and reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic.
The renewed campaign also coincides with the formal resumption of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Under Joint Maritime Information Center guidance, vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports face interception, diversion and boarding by US forces, while neutral shipping bound for non-Iranian destinations may continue transiting the Strait.
The Joint Maritime Information Center continues to assess the regional maritime threat as severe, warning operators to expect heightened naval activity, persistent monitoring by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and an ongoing risk of attacks despite the availability of the southern transit route through Omani waters.
More than 50,000 US service personnel remain deployed across the Middle East, according to CENTCOM, which said its forces remain “vigilant, lethal and ready”.
The latest attacks highlight the growing risks facing commercial shipping and seafarers in one of the world’s most strategically important energy corridors, despite international efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to global trade.