Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said two tankers and a tug caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, where U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates say 2024 oil flows equaled about one-fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption.
The Associated Press said it could not corroborate the account. The IRGC Navy Public Relations Office attributed the first tanker’s fire to a mine as it traveled along a southern passage the office called unauthorized, then said the vessel stopped. It described a second vessel as a supertanker and said a fire broke out as it left a route east of the strait; a tug that came to fight the blaze also caught fire.
The statement gave no vessel names, flags, operators or precise locations, and provided no casualty, damage or environmental details. The IRGC also said its electronic warfare unit brought two LUCAS-type drones under control and landed them safely; AP said it could not verify that claim.
Separately, UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported in Warning 196-26 that a tanker was struck by two unidentified projectiles at 23:20 UTC on Nov. 4, about 50 nautical miles north of Madinat ash Shamal, Qatar. AP said it had no confirmed information about the crew, vessel damage or environmental effects. No connection between that incident and the IRGC’s account was reported.
EconoTimes previously covered an IRGC claim that mines set tankers ablaze near Hormuz.
EIA estimated Hormuz oil flows averaged 20 million barrels per day in 2024. For the second quarter of 2026, it put flows at 4.9 million barrels per day, compared with 21.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. EIA said tracking data since late February have made the estimates less reliable and subject to revision. The agency’s next Short-Term Energy Outlook is scheduled for Nov. 10.
