UKMTO reports new incident in Strait of Hormuz
The maritime watchdog gave no details on the vessel involved or the nature of the incident.
Published · Updated
Map: The Gulf and Hormuz, marking Strait of Hormuz
UpdateWednesday, September 23, 2026 at 8:00 AM ET
The published piece said UKMTO gave no details on the vessel or the nature of the incident; the later filing describes an attack with crew evacuated and two injured.
All crew members aboard the vessel struck in the Strait of Hormuz have been evacuated, according to the later report. Two crew members were injured in the incident.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said Wednesday it had received a report of an incident within the Strait of Hormuz. It did not identify the vessel involved or say what kind of incident occurred.
The strait has been a flashpoint for weeks, with Iranian missile and drone attacks on shipping raising the risk of disruption to one of the world's busiest oil corridors. Iran has tied any reopening of full transit to the lifting of a US naval blockade, a position raised in talks between Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, and US envoy Steve Witkoff. Iran's parliament has also proposed detaining ships until a 20% transit fee is paid, according to Fars news agency.
Diplomacy has so far failed to settle the dispute. US and Iranian officials met again, with Qatar's prime minister sitting in, and reached no deal, according to Israel Hayom. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that a nuclear-armed Iran could threaten to close the strait outright, while President Trump has said the conflict could end after the midterms and pointed to Hormuz oil flows as a factor. French President Emmanuel Macron has called reopening the strait a priority and urged a multinational coalition. The United States has proposed a $10 billion fund with Arab allies to build routes that bypass the strait entirely.
This latest report fits that pattern of disruption rather than a sharp escalation, but it reinforces the risk that has not gone away despite the diplomatic overtures and Saudi Aramco's recent increase in exports. Oil has held steady only on the assumption that flows will keep improving and tensions will ease, and another incident in the strait adds pressure to that fragile balance.