Oil tanker owners fear their vessels have become “sitting ducks” trapped in the Gulf as Iran extends its attacks on shipping, with little prospect of naval escorts commencing in the coming weeks.
Two tankers were hit off the coast of Iraq in the early hours of Thursday, setting them ablaze, with one crew member killed. The attacks on the vessels, chartered by London-headquartered trading house Vitol, brought the total number of vessels struck in the past 36 hours to five, with Iran increasingly targeting tankers across the Gulf.
The attacks are adding to fears and frustration after US President Donald Trump promised to establish naval escorts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint at the entrance to the Gulf through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally flows.