IRGC claims attack on chemical tanker travelling through Hormuz Strait amid Iran vs US-Israel war: What we know so far

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Saturday claimed that it had struck the Louis P (IMO: 9749336), a chemical tanker, for allegedly failing to abide by Tehran's earlier closure of the Hormuz Strait.

The Marshall Islands-flagged vessel was allegedly struck by a drone while it was anchored off the coast of Saudi Arabia's Al Jubail Port, a Marine Traffic report said.

This comes amid a Maritime Executive report claiming that another tanker, Prima (IMO: 9427433), had been struck by the IRGC at the same area, but on Friday.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had also reported a "possible UAV attack" on a vessel located 10 nautical miles north from Al Jubail, which it said had taken place at about 5 PM UTC (10:30 PM IST) on Friday.

However, it did not name the vessel, and only said that only a skeleton crew had been aboard the vessel, while the rest were evacuated.

The IRGC has also claimed that the Maltese-flagged vessel was struck by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) after the vessel allegedly ignored its warnings. However, the aftermath of the attack is currently unknown.

Tehran has ramped up attacks on vessels continuing to travel through the Hormuz Strait since its official closure about a week ago as a part of the war between US-Israel forces and Iran.

This comes after recent attacks on one boxship and one rescue tug. Eight have been feared dead aboard the tug, a Maritime Executive report said.

Yet, a handful of vessels continue to try travelling through the strait even as roughly 200 non-sanctioned tankers—that are compliant with international maritime trade norms—have been brought to a halt due to the chaos in the Gulf.

Lloyd’s List has earlier said that the disruption had left these tankers either anchored, berthed at terminals, or slow steaming as operators await clarity on security conditions. 

Slow steaming is a maritime industry practice in which ships significantly lower their speeds to save fuel and reduce emissions.

The most recent attempt to travel through the Hormuz Strait was when tanker management company Dynacom Tankers reported that five of its vessels had managed to do so.

While the Liberian-flagged suezmax crude oil tanker Pola (IMO: 9493767) was said to have made it through, THE WEEK could not independently verify the status of the other four tankers.