With the start of the war, Iran announced on March 2 that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which more than 20 percent of the world's oil passes, to traffic and that it would target passing ships.
The USA launched a naval blockade against Iran, which closed the Strait of Hormuz, on April 13. The US banned Iranian ports or Iranian ships from entering and exiting Hormuz throughout the blockade. This caused Iran's oil exports to come to a halt.
In response to the US blockade of Iranian ports, Iran took steps to increase its control over maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and intensified its threats against ships using routes not approved by Tehran.
Iranian naval forces continue to target ships passing through these routes. Iranian officials also consider ships that try to pass through the strait with the guidance of the US military by shutting down navigation and identification systems as "enemies".
Since the start of the war, Iran has continued to target ships that try to pass through Hormuz outside its designated route and without its "permission". In particular, ships on the Oman side of Hormuz trying to pass through the route that Tehran considers "illegal" are frequently attacked.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps claims that some ships hit sea mines while passing through the southern route on the Oman side, which the Tehran administration describes as "unsafe" and "illegal".
The increase in attacks in recent months is noteworthy
The significant increase in the number of ships targeted in Hormuz in recent months due to the continuation of the naval blockade against Iran and the uncertainty in the war is noteworthy.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has confirmed 134 attacks on commercial ships in the region since the war began in February. While 25 sailors lost their lives in the attacks, thousands of sailors face security risks due to the continuation of the war.
Data obtained from the statements of the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and the Iranian Armed Forces show that actions against commercial ships have increased significantly since July, when the war with the USA started again. As transit restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz tightened in July, at least 12 attacks were recorded against tankers and cargo ships.
In August, at least 10 ships were targeted in attacks carried out with missiles and kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including tankers and LNG tankers anchored off the coast of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Sohar in Oman.
As a result of escalating missile and UAV attacks in September, at least 18 ships were targeted in Hormuz and its surroundings. In September, the United States and its regional allies changed logistics tactics to reduce the risk of giant crude oil tankers (VLCCs) being targeted as they transit directly through the Strait of Hormuz.
In early September, the USA and the Gulf countries adopted the method called "ship-to-ship", which carries oil with small ships from the ports of the Gulf countries instead of large tankers and then transfers it to large tankers in the safe zone. While the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps was updating its military strategy against this flexibility of the USA and the Gulf countries, it began to hit some supply ships, tugboats and small tonnage tankers in the Persian Gulf, describing this US-coordinated small ship traffic and ship-to-ship transfer operations as "illegal oil smuggling and an attempt to break the Hormuz blockade".
October was the month in which the highest number of ships were targeted since the beginning of the war
The fact that at least 50 of these recorded attacks took place in the last 42 days revealed that attacks on commercial ships have increased significantly since the beginning of the war.
According to UKMTO data, at least 37 ships were attacked in and around Hormuz in October. This was the highest number of attacks recorded in a month since the beginning of the war.
According to sources, at least 13 attacks, attempted attacks and incidents have been recorded in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of November.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps reported that some of these ships hit naval mines and exploded while traveling "illegally" on an "unsafe" route.
