Vessels take fire again in Strait of Hormuz as region simmers

Three months after the US and Israel began strikes on Iran, Iran and the US are still trading fire and words, Israel is launching attacks in Lebanon, Iranian drones are striking around the region and the Strait of Hormuz remains virtually shuttered to vessel traffic.

While the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)-linked Fars News Agency claimed that "26 commercial ships and tankers passed through the safe corridor of the Strait of Hormuz after obtaining permission in coordination with the IRGC Navy," Kpler data showed only six vessels passing through the strait a day earlier, on 26 May. 

The IRGC also claimed to have stopped two of "several ships" that "attempted to enter the Persian Gulf by tampering with and disabling their navigation systems," with the remainder "forced to return".

UK-based EOS Risk Group’s Head of Advisory Martin Kelly said on X (formerly Twitter) that Iran had "turned around at least four ships over the last 24 hours". 

Mr Kelly also said "the situation between the US and Iran is worsening and the risk to shipping has not changed," and that the main stumbling block to a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz -- which had been openly discussed by US President Trump and his administration over the weekend of 23-24 May -- remains Iran’s control over the strait.

"There is still no deal - and won’t be a deal because Iran won’t give up its Uranium, or control of the Strait of Hormuz," Mr Kelly said. "The key takeaway is that Iran still controls the [strait], Iran is unlikely to concede control of the [strait], and so there is little room for progress."

Attacks on vessels and infrastructure

Mr Kelly cited a series of attacks around the region since the ceasefire agreement that began on 8 April, noting US attacks on Iranian targets at Bandar Abbas, Sirik and Jasm on multiple occasions, Iranian attacks on US warships on multiple occasions, Iranian attacks on United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabian and Kuwaiti targets on multiple occasions and a restart of attacks on commercial shipping. 

On 26 May, the Royal Navy’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) unit cited the master of a vessel reporting an explosion near the waterline of a Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-owned VLCC 60 miles east of Oman. 

The master reported an external explosion, port side aft, close to the ship’s waterline, noting that the crew and vessel were safe but that some bunker fuel had spilled into the sea.

The international Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) later reported the vessel’s identity as 318,676-dwt Olympic Life, owned and managed by Olympic Shipping and Management of Athens, Greece.

The JMIC retained its ’critical’ threat level for the region.

The US and Iran traded fire over recent days, with reports of US strikes on Bandar Abbas, IRGC naval vessels and Iranian drones over the Strait of Hormuz, and IRGC reporting its targeting of a US air base. On 28 May, The US Central Command (US CENTCOM) reported a 27 May ballistic missile launched by Iran toward Kuwait that was "successfully intercepted by Kuwaiti forces", calling the strike an "egregious ceasefire violation". US CENTCOM also noted a prior Iranian drone attack that the US said had been countered.

"Iranian forces launched five one-way attack drones that posed a clear threat in and near the Strait of Hormuz. All drones were successfully intercepted by U.S. forces, which also prevented a sixth drone launch from an Iranian ground control site in Bandar Abbas," the US military apparatus said.

US levies sanctions on Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA)

On 27 May, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it had sanctioned the IRGC-led Persian Gulf Strait Authority that the US claimed was "extorting vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz".

"Anyone cooperating with the so-called strait authority may be providing support to and receiving services from the IRGC, which ultimately benefits from this attempted extortion, and may therefore be exposed to sanctions risk," an OFAC statement said, calling its operation ’Economic Fury’.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

"The PGSA works with the IRGC and IRGC Navy to coordinate traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, including requiring vessels to follow IRGC instructions to navigate an Iranian-designated route near Iran’s coast, while charging fees for passage. The funds from these illegitimate tolls are funneled to the IRGC, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization."

Detained Indian seafarers released

India’s Directorate General of Shipping took to X on 26 May to announce the successful release of all 10 Indian seafarers associated with the 7.628-dwt product tanker Harbour Phoenix, "who were detained, arrested and imprisoned in Iran following the vessel’s interception near Jask Port in July 2025".

"Through sustained diplomatic engagement and coordinated efforts between the Directorate General of Shipping, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Ministry of External Affairs, Embassy of India in Tehran, RPSL company, vessel managers, and other stakeholders, the seafarers have now been released and reunited safely," the Indian government organisation said.