Yet another tanker has been struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, which brings the total number to at least two or possibly as many as three suffering damage in the last 24 hours, chiefly from sea mines.
A slew of videos showing tankers striking mines have emerged on social media over the weekend, at a moment attacks on international vessels by Iranian forces are surging to wartime highs...
Iran’s IRGC Navy said a second supertanker struck a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz, causing an explosion and engine-room fire. https://t.co/vatM26oaod
— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 11, 2026
Prior to this, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had announced in a statement late Saturday that supertanker carrying crude oil suffered an explosion after colliding with a naval mine while "attempting to leave via the unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz" - also as reported in Bloomberg.
But one of the instances appears to have been a US attack on an 'unauthorized' vessel from an Iranian port, given the US military's Central Command said overnight into Sunday that a Panama-flagged cargo ship travelling from an Iranian port had been struck in the Gulf of Oman.
IRGC footage of 'violating supertanker BURNING in massive fire' after hitting 'naval MINE' Tanker carrying crude oil attempted to 'exit Strait of Hormuz through unauthorized route' 'Horrific fire is fate of any violating tanker that wants to ignore security and laws of Strait' https://t.co/Oqfzb8QMf1
— RTVisual (@RT_Visual_on_X) October 10, 2026
The strike was said to be aimed at the ship's engine room after it ignored warnings, with the Pentagon claiming to have taken steps at protecting crew members. And then, additionally:
On Sunday, a tanker leaving the Strait of Hormuz was hit by an “unidentified” projectile and damaged, the maritime organisation UKMTO said. The incident took place at 12:00 GMT (14:00 Prague time).
CNBC has noted amid this new surge in tanker incidents, "Since the Iran war began in late February, at least 24 sailors have died in attacks on 100 commercial ships in Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, according to the IMO."
Just before this weekend, on Friday: "Gem No. 2, was hit by a projectile Friday off the coast of the UAE resulting in a fire onboard. The ship departed Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, in March and has remained in the Persian Gulf since the war began," according to Marisks.
Below: another dramatic video which emerged Saturday...
🚨🇮🇷🇦🇪 Footage shows the aftermath of a strike on a supertanker reportedly carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi crude off the UAE coast The Panama-flagged GEM NO.2 was reportedly hit by a projectile off the UAE coast, well outside the Strait of Hormuz, in waters tankers use to stay clear of Iran. Nobody has claimed it yet, though suspicion points squarely at Tehran. Running dark didn’t save it either. So if switching off the tracker and avoiding the strait can’t protect a tanker, what can? Iran keeps proving it can reach ships wherever they sail, and with one US carrier covering the whole region, escorts can’t be everywhere, so expect fewer tankers willing to make the run and higher prices for every barrel that does. Source: Al Jazeera, CIG on TG / Writer: Daniel
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 10, 2026
October alone has witnessed over a dozen tanker attack incidents, and it seems the Iranians are trying to impose a higher cost on the US particularly in the run-up to the November midterm elections.