Two Tankers Hit Near Strait of Hormuz Amid Iran Tensions

Two commercial tankers were attacked in the past 48 hours near the Strait of Hormuz, the Bahrain-based Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) reported, as Iranian forces continued surveillance and harassment of shipping in the vital waterway. The incidents, logged under UK Maritime Trade Operations warnings 122-26 and 124-26, involved the oil tanker Burgan, which reported a security incident and subsequently anchored about 1 nautical mile northwest of Jazirat Um Al Ghanam, and a second tanker struck by three unknown projectiles roughly 17 nautical miles east of Khasab, Oman, while completing an outbound transit. UKMTO said no casualties or environmental impact were reported, and authorities are investigating. JMIC said the attacks coincided with continued activity attributed to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including drone overflights, targeted surveillance of merchant vessels and VHF radio hailing, describing a pattern aimed at maintaining a visible military presence along the shipping lanes. Commercial traffic through the Strait remains far below normal, with vessel-tracking data showing only single-digit numbers of ships transiting in each direction, despite a modest recent uptick. The Strait normally carries roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption. The incidents follow US strikes on Iranian rocket-launcher positions on Larak Island and additional attacks on Iranian radar, air-defence systems and other military infrastructure, which US Central Command said targeted forces preparing to lay mines in the waterway. Washington has intensified efforts to prevent Iran from using mines, missiles and small boats to disrupt traffic through Hormuz, while maintaining a blockade on Iranian ports.