Vessel attacks highlight persisting Middle East maritime risks
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency has reported more attacks since Saturday, underscoring that regional maritime risks remain heightened.
IMAGE: IMAGE Strait of Hormuz. Getty Images
A vessel was struck by an unknown projectile 11 nautical miles northeast of Lima, Oman, causing damage to the engine room, the UKMTO reported.
“The tanker is not under command, and the regional Coast Guard have been informed,” the UKMTO said. It was carrying Qatari-origin LNG cargo, maritime intelligence firm Windward reported.
Another incident was reported 21 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman, where a large splash and explosion was seen near a vessel, the UKMTO said.
Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains well below pre-war levels, recorded before the initial US-Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February.
As of 1 August, 19 vessels successfully transited the region, with six in dark mode, Windward reported.
Red Sea tanker traffic dwindling
About six empty Saudi Arabian crude carriers, bound for the Red Sea's Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint, altered course in the Arabian Sea, steering south around the Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, Bloomberg reported.
The detour comes after the Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militants declared a blockade on Saudi exports via the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait last month, forcing Riyadh to reroute its shipments toward Egypt.
The OPEC leader has resorted to use shuttle tankers to move crude from Yanbu to Egypt's Ain Sukhna port on the Red Sea, subsequently pumping the oil via the SUMED pipeline overland to the Mediterranean terminal at Egypt’s Sidi Kerir port, the report added.
Going around the African cape adds a minimum of two weeks to a vessel’s voyage, compared to the standard route through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait toward the Red Sea.
To combat the Houthi threat, Saudi Arabia and 13 other nations announced a new maritime defense coalition over the weekend, aimed at protecting commercial shipping and energy lines, Al Jazeera reported.
The alliance includes Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey, Yemen, and more.
By Aparupa Mazumder
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