At least 10 vessels have been struck in and around the strait since Sunday, including a wartime single-day high of six on Sunday and four on Tuesday, bringing UK Maritime Trade Operations confirmed incidents to 26 since Sept. 30. Two seafarers are missing and about 24 have died in the area since the conflict began on Feb. 28, according to the International Maritime Organization. Despite the surge in strikes, US Central Command said American forces helped Gulf partners move more than 19 million barrels of crude through the waterway on Monday, even as a US naval blockade pushed Iranian oil output below 2 million BPD for the first time since 2020.
The downturn in traffic follows the sinking of two UAE-linked cargo vessels within 24 hours. The Singapore-flagged container ship GFS Pride sank in the Omani traffic lane after a Tuesday strike that sparked a fire and forced all 21 crew to evacuate; Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said the vessel hit a naval mine while carrying more than 2,500 containers, though Singaporean authorities reported a projectile strike. Hours later, the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier Cape Dao went down off Oman from damage sustained in a Sept. 23 projectile attack, while a second Singapore-flagged vessel, the GFS Giselle, reached safe anchorage under its own power with hull damage and all 22 crew unharmed.