The Mombasa and Al Bahiyah were hit in the southern shipping lane of the strait while sailing through Omani territorial waters. The fatality was recorded aboard the Mombasa, where fires broke out after the missile impact.
Six of the injured crew members were Indian nationals and two were Ukrainians. Four suffered serious injuries and were receiving medical treatment. Both vessels sustained material damage, although emergency teams brought the fires under control.
The attack marked a sharp escalation in the confrontation over the strategic waterway, which connects the Gulf with the Arabian Sea and carries a large share of global energy shipments. It also placed civilian seafarers at the centre of a widening conflict involving Iran, the United States and several Gulf states.
The UAE condemned the strikes as a grave violation of international law and a direct threat to commercial navigation. Abu Dhabi said it reserved the right to respond and had raised its readiness level to protect national security, maritime interests and vital infrastructure.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Iran of using the Strait of Hormuz as an instrument of economic pressure and blackmail. It described attacks on commercial vessels as acts of piracy that endangered crews, regional stability and global energy supplies.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps acknowledged targeting the tankers, saying they had ignored warnings linked to restrictions imposed on shipping through the strait. Tehran has sought to exert greater control over vessel movements amid renewed military action by the United States against Iranian targets.
The attack followed another round of US air strikes on missile, drone and naval installations along Iran’s southern coast. Washington said the operation was intended to reduce Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and military positions across the Gulf.
US President Donald Trump also announced the reinstatement of a blockade on Iranian ports and proposed a 20 per cent charge on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for American protection. The plan drew objections from maritime officials and legal experts, who questioned whether any country could unilaterally impose fees on vessels using an international strait.
The International Maritime Organization has maintained that ships have a right of transit through international waterways and has called for maximum restraint. Hundreds of vessels and thousands of seafarers have been stranded or delayed in the Gulf during the conflict, increasing pressure on shipping companies, insurers and port operators.
The Mombasa and Al Bahiyah incident highlighted the growing vulnerability of tankers using the passage close to Oman. Ships travelling through Hormuz normally enter and leave the Gulf through separate narrow lanes, each only a few kilometres wide, with Iranian waters to the north and Omani territory to the south.
The strait handled about 20.9 million barrels a day of crude oil, condensate and petroleum products during the first half of 2025. That was equivalent to roughly one-fifth of worldwide petroleum liquids consumption. About 80 per cent of the oil passing through the route was destined for Asian markets.
Hormuz is also essential to liquefied natural gas exports. More than 110 billion cubic metres of LNG passed through the waterway in 2025, including most shipments from Qatar and the UAE. Unlike some oil supplies, these gas volumes have few practical alternative routes.
The tanker strikes prompted renewed scrutiny of navigation warnings issued to vessels and the ability of naval forces to provide protection in a confined and heavily trafficked area. Operators have increasingly reduced sailings, delayed departures or anchored outside the strait while assessing missile, drone and mine threats.
Insurance costs for Gulf voyages have climbed as underwriters reassess the probability of damage, crew casualties and prolonged closures. Freight charges have also risen, while some shipowners have demanded additional security guarantees before entering the passage.
Oil prices moved higher as traders evaluated the prospect of deeper disruption to Gulf exports. Even short interruptions can affect supplies from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar, although pipelines across Saudi Arabia and the UAE can bypass part of the strait’s normal traffic.
