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On Oct. 13, the Straits daily brief reported fresh attacks on vessels in and near the Strait of Hormuz. Gulf News, Arab News and Anadolu Ajansı said projectiles of unknown origin hit one container ship and one tanker. According to those reports, no maritime authority had named who was responsible.
What was reported on Oct. 13
Anadolu Ajansı separately reported that the Iranian Navy said a tanker caught fire in the eastern part of the strait. Per Anadolu, the navy put the blame on the vessel itself.
Caspian Post and Anadolu Ajansı reported that Iranian attacks targeted six ships near the strait within a single day. Anadolu described that as the highest daily count since the war with the U.S. began. Straits also noted that its feed carried 44 headlines in 24 hours, with several covering Iran’s growing pressure on shipping and the risk to a recovery in oil exports.
Traffic and market figures
- Transits: IMF PortWatch logged 4 crossings on Oct. 4. Before the crisis, the daily norm was about 85. Straits said the delay in the data fits PortWatch’s weekly publication schedule.
- Idle vessels: Straits counted 141 ships visible on AIS that were sitting away from berth in the strait and wider Gulf watch area. The tally excludes ships within 25 km of a working port.
- Oil price: Brent traded at $106.36, a gain of 0.25% on the day, according to Straits.
- Risk indices: The Hormuz Index’s Crisis Pressure reading was in the extreme band, based only on physical transit deviation. Its Escalation Forecast was in the high band, driven mainly by the Brent-WTI forward spread.
What it means for shippers
The figures point to a Gulf trade where only a sliver of normal traffic is moving. A count of 4 transits against a baseline near 85 means most scheduled sailings are not passing through. Cargo bound for or leaving upper Gulf ports should be treated as exposed to delay until a carrier confirms a routing in writing.
The reported hit on a container ship matters for bookings as well. Shippers with boxes on vessels calling inside the Gulf may want to ask their forwarder or carrier where each vessel is, which port it will use, and who bears the cost if cargo is discharged elsewhere. Earlier coverage showed how carriers handled such changes, including temporary line detention relief at nearby ports.
Check cargo insurance and documents too. Attacks on ships by unidentified parties can raise questions about which policy applies, so shippers should confirm coverage terms for Gulf voyages before cargo is released. Free time, detention and storage terms at alternative ports also deserve a review.
The slowdown is not new. ExFreight reported earlier that daily traffic had fallen to about 5% of normal in early May, and later covered the 69th day of effective closure. The Oct. 13 data show the pressure on shipping had not eased.
Brent above $106 also feeds into fuel costs. Shippers should expect carriers to keep reviewing fuel-related charges and should ask about them when requesting quotes. Because the Straits indices sat in the extreme and high bands, it is sensible to refresh routing and cost assumptions often rather than relying on a quote from several weeks ago.
