At least four tankers have been struck by drones and maritime traffic has dropped by 80%, reports say
Iran has in effect closed the strait of Hormuz to oil and gas exports for the past four days with a mixture of drone strikes and fear that has halted commercial maritime traffic despite intense US attacks on Iran’s navy.
At least four tankers have been struck and Lloyd’s List Intelligence reported that seaborne traffic had dropped by 80% on Sunday, with little sign of a return as key maritime insurers cancelled cover the next day.
In an effort to ratchet up the threat, on Monday, Brig Gen Ebrahim Jabbari, a senior adviser to the commander-in-chief of Iran’s revolution guards, said: “We will attack and set ablaze any ship attempting to cross.”
In fact the most recent reported incidents at sea were on Sunday, according to the UK’s Maritime Trading Organisation. An unknown projectile exploded “in very close proximity” to a vessel 40 miles west of Sharjah in the UAE on 1 March, it said, though no serious casualties were reported.
