Middle East war: Oil prices surge as ships continue to come under attacks
Brent crude’s price has continued to trade above the $110/bbl threshold, as more commercial vessels continue to face air assaults within the Persian Gulf.
IMAGE: Strait of Hormuz. Getty Images
A commercial vessel was set ablaze, about 63 nautical miles southeast of Al-Faw, Iraq, yesterday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency reported, citing multiple third-party reports.
“Crew status, damage assessment, and environmental impact are unknown at time of report,” the UKMTO said.
Another oil tanker was struck by an unknown projectile within the Strait of Hormuz, while conducting an outbound transit on Friday, the UKMTO said in a separate report. The vessel has been disabled, the agency reported.
At least 28 vessels have come under attack in the Persian Gulf so far in October, Reuters reported, citing the UKMTO. Official tallies are likely higher, as unverified or low-impact attacks frequently go unreported.
About 13 vessels attempted to transit the Strait of Hormuz on Friday - seven inbound and six outbound, according to market intelligence provider Windward. One of these vessels moved in dark mode, as vessel traffic remains well below the pre-war average of 140 daily transits.
As of Sunday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) assisted Persian Gulf producers in moving more than 1.5 million bbls out of the Strait of Hormuz since the war in Iran began, it said on social media platform X.
“More than 3,000 commercial vessels have successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz with support from CENTCOM forces over the last six months,” the US military agency claimed.
The US CENTCOM has now effectively held its blockade of Iranian ports for over 100 days, preventing Iran from exporting at least $25 billion worth of crude oil, it said in a separate statement.
“There have been no exports or imports to Iran by sea except for the humanitarian aid,” CENTCOM said.
By Aparupa Mazumder
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