OECD tracker says vessel transits are down to a handful a day from about 140
An unidentified projectile struck an oil tanker off Oman’s coast early Tuesday, damaging the engine room and leaving the vessel inoperable, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. The UKMTO said it received a report of the strike at about 12:25 a.m. local time. The projectile hit roughly 9 nautical miles northeast of Ash Shishan, Oman, according to the UKMTO. The tanker was not identified.
“Crew reported safe,” the UKMTO center said. “Environmental impact is unknown at the time of the report.”
No party has claimed responsibility for the incident. The UKMTO did not identify who launched the projectile or what type it was, leaving the origin of the strike unclear.
Vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz have dropped from about 140 per day to a handful, according to an OECD maritime tracker. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that the United States controls the strategic waterway and that vessels are transiting it normally. Over the weekend, Trump posted an image of the strait on his Truth Social media platform and described it as “new U.S. territory.”
The Persian Gulf Strait Authority — an Iranian government entity formed to oversee the strait — warned over the weekend that vessels violating its protocols face punitive measures, including restrictions on future passages, fines, detention, or confiscation. On Monday, the Trump administration announced additional sanctions targeting Iran, tightening financial pressure on Tehran. U.S. Central Command also said a U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports, enforced since July 14 in response to Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, has redirected 71 commercial vessels, disabled three, and boarded two others.