Baghdad, Iraq. Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters near Iraq on Wednesday, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member, according to port officials, maritime security and risk firms. The incidents followed reports of projectiles striking four vessels in Gulf waters.
Attacks near Iraq and vessels involved
The vessels targeted in late-night attacks in the Gulf near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and the Malta-flagged Zefyros, which had loaded fuel cargoes in Iraq, two Iraqi port officials said.
Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) said the Safesea Vishnu was chartered by an Iraqi company contracted with SOMO, and that Zefyros was loaded with condensate products from Basra Gas Company. SOMO said both were attacked in the ship-to-ship loading area within Iraqi territorial waters.
Shipping disruption and regional context
The latest attacks on ships linked to the U.S. and Europe raised the number of ships struck in the region since fighting began to at least 16, according to port, maritime security and risk firms.
Shipping in the Gulf and along the Strait of Hormuz, which carries around a fifth of the world’s oil, has come to a near-standstill since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Iran on February 28, sending global oil prices to highs not seen since 2022.
Warnings and statements
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that if attacks on Iran continued, they would not allow “one litre of oil” to be shipped from the Middle East to the U.S., Israel or their partners.
Trump warned Washington would strike Iran harder if it blocked oil exports and said oil companies should use the strait because “just about all of (Iran’s) navy is gone.”
Port operations halted and crew evacuation
Iraq’s state news agency said Iraq’s oil ports have completely stopped operations following the assaults, citing the head of the state-run General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI), while commercial ports continue to function.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the crew of one ship had been evacuated and were reported safe.
“A boat belonging to the Iraqi Ports Company rescued 25 crew members from the two vessels, and the fires are still burning on both ships,” GCPI director general Farhan al-Fartousi told Reuters.
How do you expect the halt in Iraq’s oil port operations to affect regional shipping in the coming days?
