Rebounding oil exports through Strait of Hormuz are vulnerable to stepped-up Iranian tanker attacks

Iran has stepped up its attacks on tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, threatening a fragile rebound of crude oil exports from the Persian Gulf. Nearly 20 commercial ships, mostly tankers, have come under attack over the past month while sailing through Hormuz, the Persian Gulf or off the coast of Oman, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center, a group of U.S.-allied militaries that provide security updates to merchant vessels. Iran attacked roughly two ships for every 100 vessels that crossed the strait in the third quarter, said Michelle Wiese Bockmann, senior maritime intelligence analyst at Windward, which tracks ships for defense departments and governments.Oil flows through Hormuz now depend on a major U.S. military commitment to protect tankers transiting along a southern route along the coast of Oman.With the security situation in Hormuz still dangerous, it is unclear how long the rebound in crude exports can be sustained in the absence of a negotiated settlement or capitulation by Tehran. Shuttle systemIn many cases, tankers are bringing crude through Hormuz and then transferring the oil onto ships in the Gulf of Oman that haul it to Asia. This shuttle syste...