U.S. military blockade intertwined with Iranian ship attacks: Hormuz Strait strikes cause further crew casualties

The Antigua and Barbuda-flagged oil-chemical tanker "Acers" was struck by multiple projectiles 51 nautical miles north of Qatar, resulting in casualties aboard. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) confirmed the attack, which occurred deep in the Gulf, approximately 94 kilometers from Qatar's Madinat al-Shamal. Ship intelligence firm Vanguard confirmed the vessel's identity. According to BBC reports, the ship was heading toward the Strait of Hormuz at the time of the incident. The source of the projectiles remains unclear.

This attack marks the continuing accumulation of seafarer casualties in the Hormuz crisis. According to United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) statistics, at least 24 crew members have died in 93 confirmed incidents since the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran broke out in February. The IMO stated that the most recent incident causing casualties occurred on September 9, when the Panama-flagged oil tanker "El Gaia" was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz—just north of Oman's Musandam Peninsula—killing two seafarers. EOS Risk Group consulting director Martin Kelly noted that this is the first time a vessel has been attacked this far west of the strait since that same day.

Behind the death toll lies a vicious cycle composed of naval blockades by a superpower and ship attacks by regional powers. The Strait of Hormuz typically carries about one-fifth of global oil and gas transportation. Since the war broke out in February, the waterway has been effectively closed—on the one hand, Tehran's missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels, and on the other, the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Analysts at shipping data analytics firm Kpler stated that crude oil exports through the waterway have averaged 12 million barrels per day over the past two weeks, approximately 80% of pre-war levels.

Brief hope flickered in June: the U.S. and Iran reached a preliminary agreement to end the war and reopen the strait. However, the agreement collapsed within weeks—Iran resumed attacks on shipping, and the U.S. reinstated its blockade. Iran has insisted on retaining partial control over this strategic waterway and has struck vessels choosing to detour via the southern route through Omani waters, since this route bypasses the passage through Iranian waters that Tehran prefers.

To maintain oil exports from Gulf Arab oil-producing states, the U.S. military continues to provide escort for tankers shuttling through the strait. This escort arrangement deploys military force directly onto the world's most sensitive energy corridor, meaning any accidental spark could further spill over the conflict.

Also on Thursday, Vanguard revised a previous report. The report had previously stated that a fire broke out aboard the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker "Dhalkut" in the Gulf of Oman approximately 40 kilometers east of the UAE's Fujairah, but the company subsequently clarified that there is no evidence that a fire actually occurred on the vessel.