Five Hormuz incidents in one day as the new LR2 tanker Lipsi is left drifting

UK Maritime Trade Operations reported five separate incidents in and near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday 5 October, in the most intense spell of attacks on shipping since the US-Iran war began on 28 February. Three of the reports reached the agency late and covered attacks on 3 and 4 October.

The latest strike came at 1637 UTC on Monday, when the master of a tanker transiting the strait reported being hit by an unknown projectile. The impact started a fire in the engine room, which the crew was still fighting when the warning was issued. No casualties or pollution had been reported.

Which ships were hit?

The delayed reports cover an inbound LPG tanker struck at 1716 UTC on 4 October and a crude oil tanker struck at 1907 UTC the same evening. A third crude tanker was hit above the waterline on 3 October; UKMTO gave no time for that incident, so it is not clear whether it overlaps with an attack already reported. The agency did not name the ships.

The maritime security firm Vanguard Tech identified one tanker hit on Sunday as Lipsi, a newly built LR2 linked to a Greek operator and a Chinese owner. She sustained engine-room damage and was left drifting.

The Joint Maritime Information Center separately confirmed four tanker attacks on 2 and 3 October along the Omani side of the strait. In one, a drone flew down a tanker's funnel into the engine room, causing a small fire and a brief loss of power. A second tanker was struck on the port quarter and continued towards Fujairah with tug assistance. A third lost propulsion. No injuries were reported.

What did the IRGC order?

In the fifth incident, an inbound tanker was contacted by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps about 11 nautical miles north of Khasab and ordered to turn around or be targeted. The master complied and changed course.

The strikes put pressure on a flow that had recovered. Tanker traffic through the strait had climbed back above 12 million barrels a day, and Kpler data showed Gulf crude exports above pre-war volumes on four days in the last week of September.

US Central Command said its forces redirected the 130th commercial vessel under the blockade of Iranian ports on 5 October. The blockade resumed on 14 July; since then three ships that refused instructions have been disabled and 13 destroyed. The last US strike on an Iranian tanker was on 8 September.

This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 6 October 2026.