Attack on Strait of Hormuz shipping raises fears for oil supplies

A projectile struck a vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz on September 12-13, according to an advisory from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. The condition of the crew and the extent of the damage remain unclear.

The strait, a narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, normally handles roughly 20 million barrels of oil per day. That’s about 20% of the world’s supply flowing through a corridor barely 21 miles wide at its narrowest point.

A chokepoint under siege

This latest incident is not an isolated event. The conflict has involved US and Israeli forces operating against Iran, with persistent shipping attacks and attempted truces that have done little to restore normal passage. Drone and missile strikes from Iran, along with retaliatory US operations targeting Iranian vessels, have turned one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors into something closer to a gauntlet.

On disrupted days, vessel transits through the strait have plummeted to as few as 5 to 10 ships. The pre-conflict norm was over 130 per day. Oil flow volumes have at times dipped to roughly 2 million barrels per day, a 90% decline from normal throughput.

Saudi pipeline adds another pressure point

The strait attack arrived just days after Saudi Arabia temporarily shut down its East-West pipeline following a drone attack attributed to Iranian-backed militias operating from Iraq. That pipeline typically moves 4 to 5 million barrels of oil per day, serving as one of the few alternative routes that bypasses the Hormuz chokepoint entirely.

Markets react predictably

Brent crude prices surged past $100 per barrel in September 2026, building on earlier spikes that followed attacks in June. Insurance costs for vessels transiting the strait have already climbed dramatically since the conflict began, and underwriters are reassessing risk models with every new UKMTO advisory.

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