Two crew hurt as tanker hit by projectile in Strait of Hormuz

Two crew members suffered minor injuries when an oil tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz was struck by an unknown projectile, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported on September 21.

The attack is the fourth on shipping in the strait in 11 days and the first this month to cause injuries, extending a campaign that has left 14 seafarers and a port worker dead since Iran began striking merchant traffic after the US and Israel attacked on February 28.

Tehran has asserted control over the waterway, which carried about 20mn barrels of oil a day before the war, a quarter of seaborne crude trade and a fifth of global liquefied natural gas.

UKMTO gave no vessel name, flag or position, and no party claimed the strike.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on September 18 it had hit the Togo-flagged tanker Trend for an "illegal attempt" to transit without authorisation, warning that ships passing without permission would face "destruction".

That vessel caught fire and its crew were unhurt. Another tanker was struck leaving the strait on September 16, and on September 13 a fully laden tanker suffered a severe fire after a hit.

War risk premiums have risen from 0.125% of hull value per transit before the war to between 0.2% and 0.4%, and protection and indemnity cover was withdrawn from March 5, making passage uneconomic for most operators. More than 600 ships, mostly tankers, were trapped inside the Gulf in May, with a further 240 waiting outside.

Brent crude, which peaked at $126 a barrel in March, has held above $100 this month, with Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, the main route around the strait, shut since a drone attack on September 11 damaged three pumping stations.

The US Navy escort mission Operation Project Freedom, launched on May 4 and paused two days later, has since resumed guiding commercial vessels through the strait.