Twelve ships have reported attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz between 5 and 11 October, the highest weekly total recorded since the US‑Israeli conflict with Iran escalated, according to data compiled by BBC Verify from the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency. Six of those vessels were hit on 8 October alone, marking a single‑day peak. Four additional incidents have been logged since the start of the week.

The surge in reported strikes coincides with a slowdown in oil shipments through the waterway. Trade‑intelligence firm Kpler recorded 12.6 million barrels per day passing the strait on 13 October, down from 15 million barrels per day at the end of September and well below the pre‑war average of about 17 million barrels per day. The decline follows a brief recovery in August, when assisted transits helped lift flows toward earlier levels.

BBC Verify extracted incident reports from the UKMTO website and plotted them against the dates cited in each filing, noting that some entries reference the attack date while others use the reporting date. Experts say Iran has been targeting vessels to tighten its grip on the strait as the US military increases the number of tankers it escorts through the southern corridor to avoid Iranian attacks. The pattern now extends beyond the immediate strait, with attacks recorded farther from the waterway, including one more than 500 km from the strait near Qatar.

On 8 October a Nicaraguan‑flagged tanker, the Petro Dolphin, was struck by a drone close to Sohar Anchorage, Oman, igniting a fire that was captured on verified footage by a nearby crew. Eleven Indian crew members were rescued; two remain missing, according to the Forward Seamen's Union of India. Another tanker, the container ship GFS Pride, sank after a strike on 9 October. Twenty‑one crew were evacuated safely, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps released footage of the sinking, describing the vessel as carrying "2,500 containers of contraband" and traveling an "unauthorised route."

The US Central Command has posted on social media that commercial traffic continues to move through the strait under coordinated protection from US forces and regional partners, despite the attacks. Martin Kelly, chief executive of Orbital Risk Intelligence, said Iran has "evolved its strategy" in response to what it perceives as a loosening of control over the waterway, carrying out "near daily or multiple attacks every single day" to deter shipping and prevent vessels from passing.

Iranian state media reported that the IRGC navy has announced a "new deployment formation" across the region, indicating that strikes will not be confined to the Strait of Hormuz. The group has also targeted ships near the coasts of Gulf Arab states and in the Gulf of Oman, including an attack on 9 October close to the UAE town of Al‑Jazirah al‑Hamra.

These incidents underscore a broader escalation in maritime tension that is beginning to affect oil export volumes, even as the United States continues to provide escort services for commercial vessels navigating the strategic waterway.