VLCC Grit hit in the engine room off Oman as Iran's Hormuz blacklist nears 240 ships
The fifth confirmed attack of November came a day after 114 ships joined the list, at least 29 of them Sinokor-linked
The Barbados-flagged VLCC Grit was struck in the engine room by two unknown projectiles 14 nautical miles north-east of Limah, Oman, at 19:00 UTC on 3 November. It was the fifth confirmed attack on shipping in the first three days of the month. Vanguard Tech identified the tanker and placed the incident in Omani waters. No crew casualties were reported, and the extent of the damage is not known.
Pole Star Global lists the 23-year-old ship as operated by Yearn Marine and registered to Guangjie Shipping of Hong Kong. Grit is on the non-compliance list kept by Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority.
How far has the blacklist grown?
The authority added 114 ships on 2 November, its largest update since the list was created in August, taking the total to 240. At least 29 of the new names are linked to Sinokor, 10 to Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, seven to Bahri and six to ADNOC. The list now holds at least 46 Sinokor-linked ships, around half of the South Korean owner's VLCC fleet, and the authority says all of Sinokor's ships will be treated in the same way as listed tonnage.
Most of the new names have no recorded attack against them. Only nine of the 114 additions appear on the IMO's list of confirmed incidents, against 90% of the ships added on 15 October. Those nine account for 10 attacks since March, because Kuwait's Al Dasma was hit on both 7 September and 20 October.
Who else was hit this week?
An Indian coaster, Al Jusufi, was struck off Limah on 2 November. One crew member died of injuries and 13 were rescued by the Omani Coast Guard. India's shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal named the dead seafarer as Gandhar Nahim Ajij, a resident of Gujarat, and the foreign ministry said its embassy in Oman is arranging the survivors' repatriation.
"The targeting of commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the region must end," the Ministry of External Affairs said.
The offshore tug Selat Storm and the tanker Era S were struck in the strait on 1 November, and the tanker Largo Atom was hit in the Gulf the same day. UKMTO has since published a late report of a vessel holed on the starboard side by an unknown projectile on 1 November, 9 nautical miles north-east of Limah.
This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 5 November 2026.
Ships in this story
