Ship attacks hit a new high in October, with 3.5% of the world’s supertankers damaged in the war

According to data compiled by a Washington think tank, there have been at least 28 attacks on merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters in October, setting a single-month record. About 3.5% of the world's very large tanker fleet has been attacked and damaged in this war.

Reuters reported on the 23rd that Noam Raydan, a senior researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a Washington think tank, said that "October was the month with the highest number of attacks on ships on record." Tracking data from the think tank's interactive shipping incident map maintained by Redan shows that there have been 28 confirmed or reported ship attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters in October, bringing the total to 113 since the start of the war in February. The think tank’s tracking map shows that most of the ship attacks in September and October were concentrated in the Strait of Hormuz.

The think tank's data is broadly consistent with statistics from the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO), which has recorded a total of 120 such incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and wider Middle East waters since the war began. Reuters compared IMO records and ship tracking website MarineTraffic data and found that more than 30 very large crude carriers (VLCC) have been damaged in these attacks, 11 in October alone.

Each VLCC class tanker can carry approximately 2 million barrels of crude oil. The number of damaged very large tankers recorded above accounts for approximately 3.5% of the world's more than 900 VLCC fleet. With daily freight rates rising above US$1 million and regional oil-producing countries offering greater discounts to Dated Brent crude oil, shipowners are increasingly willing to sail into the Persian Gulf to load crude oil, but this has also exposed more tankers to the risk of attack.

Marisks, a Greek maritime risk consulting company, pointed out that "October has become the most intensive period of maritime attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding areas since the conflict escalated in March." In just one week from October 5 to 11, 12 ships were attacked, which also set a single-week record since the outbreak of the war.

Redan said Iran is seeking to slow down the recovery of shipping by intensifying attacks on ships and continue to put pressure on global energy markets ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November. Reuters also recently quoted two senior Iranian officials as saying that Tehran is adopting such a strategy.

Data from the British maritime security agency "Maritime Trade Action Office" (UKMTO) also shows that the number of ships damaged due to attacks increased significantly in October. As of October 16, 135 ship attacks related to the US-Iran conflict were recorded; however, due to insufficient voluntary notifications by shipping companies, it is difficult for them to grasp the complete situation.