Combined vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz stood at 125 outbound and 129 inbound over the past week, down about 70% from pre-conflict levels, UKMTO said. Even so, US Central Command said on Friday that American forces helped about 400 merchant ships and tankers carrying more than 100 million barrels of oil—over 14 million BPD—cross the waterway over the past seven days, and confirmed that the Singapore-flagged container ship GFS Pride sank while under tow after being hit by an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps projectile rather than a naval mine. Separately on Friday, Indian Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the UAE-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged crude tanker MT ST 3, carrying 15 Indian seafarers, was struck by a projectile in the strait, while Iran's Navy reported a burning tanker that had switched off its tracking systems in a restricted zone of the Gulf of Oman.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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UK Maritime Agency Says Most Hormuz Ship Attacks Go Unreported as Transits Drop 70%
War4 days ago
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre said in a weekly update on Friday that it is struggling to establish the true number of strikes on shipping around the Strait of Hormuz because a "majority of vessels attacked" are refusing to report incidents to the British Royal Navy-run liaison group. UKMTO logged 12 reported attacks over the past week—10 in the Strait of Hormuz, one in the Persian Gulf and one in the Gulf of Oman—leaving one vessel lost, two disabled, six able to continue or reach port and three with unconfirmed outcomes. The agency said it "is aware via other sources of incidents" that it cannot publish without verification, indicating its official tally of more than 20 strikes since Sept. 28 and 135 conflict-related maritime incidents with 76 casualties since Feb. 28 is at least half the actual count.
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