Tanker Hit by Limpet Mines in Strait of Hormuz in First Such Strike Since US-Iran War Began

A small boat attached two limpet mines to the hull of a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, starting a fire in its engine room and leaving the vessel temporarily disabled, maritime sources said on Friday. It was the first successful use of such explosives in the waterway since the war between the United States and Iran began in February, the sources said.

The crew was safe, there was no environmental impact, and the fire had been put out, the British navy agency United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said in an advisory note. The agency did not name the vessel and said it was continuing to its next port of call. The incident happened on Thursday, 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab in Oman, according to the agency. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

What the sources say about the vessel

The tanker was the Panama-flagged Louise 1, according to assessments from three maritime security sources. The strike was the first known successful limpet mine strike in the area since the war began, and it followed a separate attempt in September in which the devices did not detonate, two of the sources said.

Greece-based maritime risk group Marisks said in a note on Friday that a small craft reaching a tanker in transit, placing explosive devices on its hull, and leaving again raised a security concern in the strait’s crowded shipping lanes. The group said limpet mines were first used in the region in 2017 and were used against tankers in the strait in later years, and it described the devices as cheap and easy to obtain.

Reuters reported that Ukrainian forces hit the Louise 1 in July with naval drones in the Black Sea, over what Ukraine’s SBU security service said was its role in moving Russian oil and its place in a fleet of tankers used by Moscow to keep oil exports flowing. The vessel’s Panama-based operator, listed in shipping databases as Aquarius Maritime Ventures, could not be reached for comment, Reuters said.

Iran reports two tankers stopped

In a separate account on Friday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy said two oil tankers were involved in incidents and stopped in waters south of the Strait of Hormuz after ignoring radio warnings and trying to use what Iran called an unauthorized route through the waterway. Iran also said on Friday that it destroyed a United States unmanned vessel in the eastern Strait of Hormuz. There was no immediate confirmation from the United States military, Reuters reported.

The incident came during repeated attacks on commercial shipping in and around the strait since the conflict began in February, Reuters reported. Iran has hit vessels it said broke its rules for passage through the waterway, as it sought to assert control over the strait and put pressure on Washington, according to Reuters.

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters.