Tanker in Strait of Hormuz hit by limpet mines, security sources say

A small boat attached two limpet mines to the hull of a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz causing a fire in its engine room and temporarily disabling the vessel, in the first ‌successful use of such explosives in the waterway since the US war with Iran began in February, maritime sources said on Friday.

The crew was safe, there was no environmental impact and the fire had been extinguished, British navy agency United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said in an advisory note, adding ‌that the vessel, which it did not name, was continuing to its next port of call. The incident occurred on Thursday, 25 nautical miles (46 km) northeast ‌of Oman's Khasab, UKMTO said.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack. The incident comes amid repeated attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important oil export routes, since the outbreak of the conflict between the US and Iran in February.

Iran has hit vessels it says have ⁠violated its ​restrictions on passage through the strategic waterway, ⁠as it seeks to assert control over the strait and exert pressure on Washington. The tanker — the Panama-flagged Louise 1 — was targeted with limpet mines, according to assessments from three ⁠maritime security sources.

This is the first known successful strike using limpet mines in the area since the beginning of the US war with Iran and followed a separate ​attempt in September using such devices which did not detonate, two of the sources said. "The apparent ability of a small craft ⁠to approach a transiting tanker, deploy explosive devices and withdraw presents a significant security concern, particularly in the Strait's congested shipping lanes," Greece-based maritime risk management group Marisks said in a note ⁠on ​Friday.

Marisks said limpet mines were first deployed in the region in 2017 and used against tankers in the Strait of Hormuz in subsequent years, adding that "limpet mines are cheap and easily available". "The methodology of a small craft attaching these mines on the hulls of vessels in transit ⁠is cheap, low tech and very efficient," it said.

Ukrainian forces also hit the Louise 1 in July with naval drones in the Black Sea ⁠over what Ukraine’s SBU security service said ⁠was its role in transporting Russian oil and being part of the so-called shadow fleet of tankers deployed by Moscow to keep oil exports flowing. The vessel's Panama-based operator, listed in shipping databases as Aquarius Maritime Ventures, ‌could not be immediately reached ‌for comment.