Four vessels were hit by unidentified projectiles while passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, Ship & Bunker reported, citing UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The British government maritime security monitoring agency identified the ships as three tankers and a container vessel. Its account described incidents affecting traffic moving in both directions through the strait, with the tankers travelling outbound and the container ship heading inbound.
UKMTO set out the incidents in four separate warnings, numbered 166-26 to 169-26. In warning 166-26, the agency reported that an outbound tanker had been struck by an unidentified projectile. The crew of that vessel were confirmed to be safe, although the environmental consequences of the incident remained unknown. The report did not identify the tanker by name or specify what type of tanker it was.
Warning 167-26 concerned the container ship, which was struck during its inbound passage. The two subsequent notices covered different tanker types: warning 168-26 described a product tanker being hit, while warning 169-26 concerned a crude oil tanker. Both were making outbound transits when they were struck, according to the UKMTO account cited by Ship & Bunker.
The safety confirmation and statement about an unknown environmental impact related specifically to the tanker covered by warning 166-26. The source report provided no corresponding crew or environmental details for the container ship, product tanker or crude oil tanker. It also did not identify the projectiles or say who was responsible for the strikes.
The four reports came amid a rise in the frequency of vessel attacks in the strait in recent days, according to Ship & Bunker. The outlet said UKMTO had recorded around eight incidents since Saturday, placing Sunday's strikes within a wider sequence of maritime security reports from the waterway.