Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says four tankers, including a supertanker, hit mines and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said four oil tankers, including a “supertanker” carrying more than 2 million barrels, hit mines and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz¹. The Guard’s navy said on Saturday that a supertanker struck a mine in an unsafe area east of the strait and caught fire².

The Revolutionary Guards navy claims the four tankers caught fire and exploded while using what it called unauthorised routes⁴. According to one report, four oil tankers were hit by explosions in the Strait of Hormuz over 29 and 30 October alone³. New shipping routes through the strait have come under Iran’s scrutiny, the same report said³.

These are claims by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and the sources here do not include statements from the ships’ owners or from the US or Gulf navies^1,4.

Why it matters to investors

Mine strikes on loaded tankers raise the risk to oil moving through Hormuz, and the supertanker in the Guard’s account was carrying more than 2 million barrels¹. Iran describes the routes the ships were using as unauthorised, and new shipping routes through the strait have come under its scrutiny^3,4.

Attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have been constant in a conflict that has already killed at least 24 civilian seafarers⁶. The commentary on that toll argues that no amount of money can make a war zone safe for seafarers⁶.

One account characterised the strikes as revenge and said a US mine-clearing mission was unravelling⁵. The other sources describe mines and explosions but do not report that the US mission has failed^1,2.

What to watch

The first marker is whether more vessels report mine strikes on the routes Iran calls unauthorised, after four tankers were hit over two days^3,4. The condition of the supertanker and its cargo is the second^1,2.

Statements from the ships’ owners, insurers or naval forces would test the Revolutionary Guard’s account, which is the main source for the number of ships and their routes^1,4. The safety of crews remains the human cost behind the shipping data, with at least 24 civilian seafarers already killed⁶.

The sources do not name the four tankers or say where they were bound^1,3.