At least three oil tankers were damaged off the Gulf coast after US and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered Iranian retaliation that put merchant ships at risk of collateral damage, shipping sources and officials said on Sunday.
Risks to commercial shipping have increased over the past 24 hours, with more than 200 vessels, including oil tankers and liquefied gas carriers, dropping anchor around the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters, shipping data showed on Sunday.
Iran has said it has closed shipping through the critical waterway.
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“Ships can be attacked deliberately or by mistake”
“The US-Israeli attack on Iran dramatically increases the security risk for ships operating in the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters,” said Jakob Larsen, security director at shipping association BIMCO.
“Ships with commercial connections to US or Israeli interests are more likely to be attacked, but other ships can also be attacked deliberately or by mistake.”
A Palau-flagged oil tanker under U.S. sanctions was hit off Oman’s Musandam Peninsula on Sunday, injuring four people, the country’s maritime safety center said without specifying what hit the ship.
The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker MKD VYOM was hit by a shell off the coast of Oman while sailing with cargo, two maritime security sources said on Sunday.
The ship was hit 44.4 nautical miles northwest of Muscat, one of the sources said.
Britain’s maritime agency UKMTO said a loaded merchant ship reported an explosion at the same location.
Another tanker at the United Arab Emirates port of Jebel Ali was nearly damaged by falling debris from an aerial interception after overnight Iranian attacks on Gulf states, maritime security sources said.
A third tanker was damaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, two shipping sources said.
About 20 percent of the world’s oil, including that from producers Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait and Iran, passes through Hormuz, along with large volumes of LNG from Qatar.
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Ships were advised to stay away from the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman due to the risk of retaliatory attacks by Iran, the US Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration said in a note on Saturday.
“Any U.S.-flagged, owned or crewed commercial vessel operating in these areas must maintain a distance of 30 nautical miles from U.S. military vessels to reduce the risk of being mistaken for a threat,” he said.
There was also the potential risk of Iranian forces laying mines in the narrow lanes of the Strait of Hormuz, security sources said.
The Iranian military loaded naval mines on ships in the Persian Gulf in June, raising concerns in Washington that Tehran was preparing to establish a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, two US officials told Reuters in July.
There were expectations that war risk insurance rates would rise when insurers reviewed coverage on Monday, shipping sources said.
War risk cover is required when sailing into dangerous areas and the Lloyd’s of London market has already listed Iran, the Gulf and parts of the Gulf of Oman as high risk.
“We estimate short-term rate increases for marine hull insurance in the Gulf could range between 25 and 50 percent,” said Dylan Mortimer of insurance broker Marsh.
Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, said on Sunday it would halt passage through the Strait of Hormuz for “security” reasons.
“We are suspending all ship crossings in the Strait of Hormuz until further notice,” the Danish group said in an online notice. “The safety of our crews, ships and our customers’ cargo remains our top priority,” he said.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)
