Ship Attacks Near Strait of Hormuz Reach October Record, Maritime Tracker Says
· News Team
October 23, 2026 — Attacks on commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz have reached their highest monthly level in records maintained by a Washington-based maritime security researcher, underscoring the continued risks to crews and energy shipments through one of the world’s most important shipping routes.
Noam Raydan, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, has tracked 28 confirmed or reported attacks in October and 113 since the conflict involving Iran began on February 28, according to Reuters reporting published October 23. The figures cover the strait and surrounding waterways, and include incidents reported to researchers rather than a single universally verified count.
Reuters separately reviewed International Maritime Organization incident records and vessel-tracking data, finding that more than 30 very large crude carriers had been damaged during the conflict, including 11 this month. Those vessels represent approximately 3.5% of the global fleet of such supertankers, Reuters calculated.
The International Maritime Organization has repeatedly warned that attacks on civilian vessels threaten seafarers and the freedom of navigation. In an August 28 statement, it said thousands of sailors remained stranded in the Persian Gulf and called for practical measures to restore safe passage.
Incident totals vary across monitoring organizations because their geographic coverage, definitions and reporting methods differ. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations service has warned that incomplete voluntary reports may leave some incidents uncounted. The latest figures therefore describe the scale of reported maritime insecurity, not a definitive accounting of every attack or responsibility for each incident.
Sources: Reuters (October 23, 2026); International Maritime Organization (August 28, 2026). No third-party news photographs reproduced.
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