Four tankers hit in the Strait of Hormuz as captains draw $100,000 a month

Four tankers were attacked in or near the Strait of Hormuz, and another commercial vessel was threatened by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps¹. Two Sinokor very large crude carriers and a Maran Gas LNG tanker were among the four ships hit in the attacks, according to an account citing a 5 October advisory from the UK Maritime Trade Operations⁴.

An LR2 tanker was hit by a projectile during a transit of the strait on Monday or Tuesday, injuring 12 seafarers². A separate report said 11 Indian crew were injured after the Panama-flagged MT On Peace was hit, with India condemning the attack and urging a ceasefire and the safety of shipping⁷. The two accounts give different injury counts for the vessels involved^2,7.

The Greek-flagged LNG carrier Maran Gas Mystras was hit by an unidentified projectile while exiting the strait, with its crew reported safe³.

Why it matters to investors

The cost of moving a cargo through the chokepoint has repriced. Oil tanker captains in the Gulf are being paid rates equivalent to $100,000 a month for travelling through the Strait of Hormuz⁵. That is a crew cost alone, and it sits on top of whatever hull and war-risk cover a transit now requires.

Volumes have not recovered to normal. Standard Chartered says flows through the strait remain well below normal, estimating crude and condensate exports from the Gulf on a basis that excludes Iran⁶. LNG is caught alongside crude, with gas carriers among the vessels struck^3,4.

The attacks are also indiscriminate as to flag and owner. The vessels struck include Greek-flagged, Panama-flagged and Korean-owned tonnage, which means no single registry or charterer can route around the risk^3,4,7.

What to watch

The first marker is whether the attacks continue at this tempo. Four ships hit in a single run, plus a further vessel threatened, is the pattern that keeps transit economics dislocated^1,4.

The second is danger pay and insurance. If captains’ rates hold near $100,000 a month, the cost feeds through to freight and ultimately to delivered energy prices⁵. The third is the export figure itself: Standard Chartered’s estimate of Gulf crude and condensate shipments is the cleanest read on how much supply is actually reaching buyers⁶. Diplomatic pressure is a fourth variable, with India condemning the attack on its crew and calling for a ceasefire and the safety of shipping⁷.