US warplane strikes cargo ship trying to run Iran blockade

The National reported on 11 October that CENTCOM said no one was hurt aboard the ship, also known as Arika Sun, and that the crew had ignored repeated warnings. Since the blockade resumed on 14 July, US forces have disabled 4 commercial vessels and turned back 135. The numbers vary by source. According to Gulf News, CENTCOM reported 133 redirections on 9 October, while its 5 October statement listed 130 redirections and 13 vessels destroyed.

Two separate accounts emerged from Hormuz the same night. UKMTO said an outbound tanker caught fire at 23:20 UAE time after being hit by an unidentified projectile, and that the crew was safe. Yeni Şafak, citing AA, reported that the IRGC said a supertanker carrying about 2 million barrels of crude struck a mine on the unauthorised southern route; the claim could not be independently verified. The UAE National Guard said it rescued 22 people from a burning tanker in the Gulf; it is unclear whether the two incidents involve the same ship.

UKMTO data cited by Gulf News show 129 outbound and 146 inbound transits in the 7 days to 9 October. Over the same period there were 11 attacks, and 7 of the 11 ships hit suffered light damage. Traffic is about 75% below pre-war levels. Of 59 commercial incidents in the strait since 6 July, 41 occurred on the southern route. In 7 days, 9 GNSS jamming reports and 18,881 anomalous AIS positions were logged.