Supertanker strikes mines in Strait of Hormuz as US-Iran clashes intensify

A supertanker caught fire and came to a complete stop after striking two naval mines in the southern Strait of Hormuz early Monday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced, in the latest escalation of a conflict that has choked the world's most critical oil chokepoint for months.

The IRGC said the vessel had been attempting to pass through what it called an "unauthorized route" south of the strait and warned that other ships violating its navigation regulations would "face the same fate". The Guards did not identify the vessel or provide details about its crew. Brent crude rose above $90 a barrel on the news, extending gains that had already built over the weekend.fxstreet+3

Weekend Strikes Shatter Month-Long Lull

The tanker incident came hours after the first known U.S. strikes on Iranian territory since late July shattered a fragile period of quiet. On Sunday, American forces struck two rocket launchers on Larak Island, which sits directly on the strait near the port of Bandar Abbas, after observing IRGC forces preparing to fire rockets carrying sea mines into the waterway, according to Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. The strikes killed two people and wounded two others, the IRGC said.bbc+1

Iran retaliated within hours, claiming missile strikes on U.S. military installations in Jordan. Jordan's military said it intercepted eight missiles early Monday. The IRGC also said it launched ballistic missiles at U.S. bases in the region.newsquawk+2

Strait Traffic at a Fraction of Pre-War Levels

The exchange underscores the precariousness of efforts to reopen the strait, through which roughly 20 percent of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the conflict began in February. From mid-July to late August, an average of about five vessels per day transited the waterway, a nearly 95 percent decline from pre-war levels of roughly 130 ships per day, according to Al Jazeera reporting on shipping data.aljazeera+1

The U.S. has been working to widen a cleared channel through the strait. Axios reported Friday that Washington hopes to enable at least 50 ships per night to transit by mid-September, restoring 60 to 70 percent of pre-war oil exports. CENTCOM said Sunday that "international shipping lanes are open and momentum is building", but the mine strike on the supertanker immediately tested that assertion.thehill+1

Six months into the conflict, global refining capacity remains roughly 10 percent impaired from combined Gulf damage and Ukrainian strikes on Russian facilities, making the refined-product squeeze as much of a constraint as the crude supply disruption itself.fxstreet