This follows our report of 23 October on Gulf shipping, which covered UKMTO entries to 21 October. UKMTO has logged more incidents since, and the newest is today's.
What UKMTO reported on 2 November
On 2 November UKMTO reported: "UKMTO has received a report of an incident 72NM east of RAS AL KHAFJI, SAUDI ARABIA. A tanker travelling southeast through the Arabian Gulf has been struck by 2 unknown projectiles on the port side. All crew are accounted for and there is no reported environmental impact at this time."
UKMTO places it 72NM east of Ras al Khafji, in the Arabian Gulf. It is a different body of water from the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
A small boat at the hull off Khasab
On Thursday 29 October, at 2212 UTC, a tanker 25NM northeast of Khasab, Oman, was reported on fire. In an update early on 30 October, UKMTO said it had been approached by a small boat. In its words: "the tanker was approached on the port side by a small boat which attached two explosive devices to the hull above the waterline." The blasts started an engine-room fire that temporarily disabled the vessel. The fire was reported extinguished and the vessel was continuing to its next port. UKMTO says: "This incident is now classed as an ATTACK."
The report we published on 23 October included one small-boat attack, an RPG fired at a tanker off Al Jubayl on 16 October. This one went further: UKMTO's update says the tanker was approached on the port side by a small boat which attached two explosive devices to the hull.
The other entries since 21 October
UKMTO also logged these. None names an attacker, a vessel, a flag or an owner.
On 22 October a tanker was hit by an unknown projectile 7NM northeast of Limah, Oman.
On 23 October UKMTO received a time-late report that a tanker transiting outbound in the Strait of Hormuz was struck by an unknown projectile, disabling the vessel; the crew were reported safe.
On 26 October UKMTO recorded "multiple third-party reports of a vessel on fire, 63NM southeast of Al-Faw, Iraq".
On 29 October, a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile on an outbound transit of the Strait of Hormuz, reported by its Company Security Officer with no reported injuries, and a dhow 9NM north of Khasab caught fire and sank, with the crew evacuated safely.
On 30 October UKMTO reported that "a crude oil tanker was struck by an unknown projectile whilst completing an outbound transit of the Strait of Hormuz". The same day, a vessel 40NM south of Lavan Island, Iran, was hit by an unknown projectile on the port side and caught fire. The crew were reported safe.
On 1 November a master relayed a Mayday call from VHF Ch 16 within the Strait of Hormuz, saying that another vessel "has been struck by an unknown projectile". UKMTO gives no position beyond the Strait.
What the FCDO says
The FCDO's Saudi Arabia advice, last changed on 27 October, says: "the wider context in the Middle East remains deeply unpredictable and the risk of sudden escalation is high." That page does not address these incidents. We have not found a UN or UK government statement on them.
What is not in the record
UKMTO names no attacker for any incident. It gives no vessel names, flags or owners. It gives no damage assessment for the 2 November tanker beyond the strike on its port side. It does not give a position for the 1 November Mayday or the 30 October crude tanker transit, and the status of the vessel in the Mayday is unknown. The entries from 29 October to 2 November carry no warning numbers in the page text.
What it means for operators
This is Ops Con's reading, not UKMTO's or the FCDO's.
Teams planning sea movements or crew changes in the Gulf should treat the incident rate as current, not as a series that ended on 21 October. The 2 November strike is well north of the Strait, so a plan that treats only Hormuz as the exposed stretch may be too narrow. The Khasab attack matters for security while under way: UKMTO says a small boat reached the hull of a tanker transiting outbound, which is a different problem from a projectile, and it argues for small-craft watchkeeping during the transit, not only route choice. Check UKMTO's page directly before each movement.
