(July 20): Iranian attacks on tankers and escalating US strikes appear to have brought traffic to a standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, as two vessels controlled by one of the industry’s boldest shipowners were hit.

An oil supertanker called the Acheloos, and a smaller fuel tanker, were both struck in the waterway, according to Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd, the ships’ manager. Public reporting by freighters of their navigation through the waterway has all but halted as owners and crew members do anything they can to avoid attack.

The attacks on vessels controlled by Dynacom — which has made a reputation during the crisis for finding ways through the strait even when others couldn’t or wouldn’t — will unnerve the industry and underlines just how perilous the crossing has become since the recent escalation of violence on both sides.

On Sunday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement that four vessels switched off their transponders and attempted to transit Hormuz via an “unsafe route” after disregarding warnings. Two were “met with accidents and were stopped in their tracks”, Iranian media reported, citing the IRGC.

A flare-up in violence in the Middle East has raised concerns about deepening disruptions to crucial energy flows — including liquefied natural gas — from the Persian Gulf to global customers. Oil and European gas prices jumped on Monday after the weekend attacks before paring gains.

The targeting of vessels will likely raise fresh concerns over the safety of ships transiting Hormuz while hugging the Omani coast. Iran has approved a route further to the north that runs close to its coastline.

Among observable transits, a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier was among the few vessels that appeared to attempt passage, turning off its transponder while approaching the strait near Oman from the Persian Gulf, according to ship-tracking data. 

A liquefied petroleum gas carrier that’s been marked as being part of the dark fleet involved in Iranian exports also appeared to approach the strait. 

Another bulk carrier that’s registered with Marshall Islands began signalling from the Gulf of Oman after indicating that it was in the Persian Gulf early on Sunday, suggesting that it had crossed Hormuz with its transponder off.

Despite the collapse in visible transits tracking ships automatic identification system signals, some ships may well be transiting dark, meaning that the full scale of traffic may take months or even weeks to emerge.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had a received a report of an incident northwest of Kumzar, Oman, in which a vessel was on fire after being struck by an unknown projectile. The blaze hasn’t been extinguished and the ship is adrift, the UKTMO said in a statement, without identifying the vessel.

The Kavomaleas started signalling that it was anchored near the tip of Oman’s Musandam Peninsula on Monday. The previous broadcast from the vessel was in the Gulf of Oman early on Sunday. 

Dynacom confirmed in a statement distributed by an external firm that the Kavomaleas came under attack and the crew evacuated the ship and are safe, a 2025 able to transport about 75,000 tons of cargo. A “projectile of unknown origin” struck the Acheloos, it said in a separate statement. 

There had already been signs that Iran was increasingly targeting oil supertankers that are the mainstay type of ship to transport Middle East crude to the world. 

“These incidents confirm the previously announced significant escalation in the operational risk within the Strait of Hormuz,” risk-consultant Marisks said in a note, in reference to the incidents involving Dynacom vessels. “The attacks demonstrate that merchant vessels remain exposed to direct military action regardless of the transit corridor used.”

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