Projectiles Strike Two Vessels, Including Tug in Strait of Hormuz

Two vessels were struck by projectiles in Gulf waters Sunday, including a ship east of Saudi Arabia and a tug in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy shipments.

The incidents were separate, and the strike near Saudi Arabia took place hundreds of miles from the strait. The ship was hit by two projectiles about 83 miles east of Ras al-Khafji, Saudi Arabia, in the northern Persian Gulf.

A separate projectile struck an offshore tug northwest of the Musandam Peninsula in the strait. The tug was the UAE-owned Selat Storm, an older offshore tug and supply ship of about 1,300 deadweight tons. The tug’s crew status was not reported.

The Sunday strike followed an Oct. 18 projectile strike on the Dutch-flagged tug JIF Barracuda in the strait. The vessels’ activities when they were hit were not reported.

Restrictions on vessel movement through the Strait of Hormuz can affect oil-market risk and financial-market volatility. An Iranian Revolutionary Guard adviser previously warned that designated routes through the strait would close.