New tension is emerging in the shipping front, as Iranian forces struck a tanker in the Gulf of Oman, marking the first successful attack east of the Strait of Hormuz in nearly two weeks.
Following a brief 72-hour pause during which the Gulf and surrounding waters had calmed, on 17 March that a tanker off the UAE had been attacked. According to the report, a tanker located 23 nautical miles east of Fujairah, UAE, said that it was struck by an unknown projectile while at anchor.
Minor structural damage was reported, fortunately with no injuries to the crew and no environmental impact.
The incident follows recent drone strikes on oil facilities at the port of Fujairah. To remind, oil loadings at Fujairah were halted on 16 March for the second time in recent days, after a drone strike caused a fire in the petroleum industrial zone.
According to the UKMTO, between 28 February 2026 and 17 March 2026 (0800 UTC), the monitoring agency received 21 reports of incidents affecting vessels operating in and around the Arabian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman. Of these, 17 were classified as attacks and 4 as suspicious activity reports.