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FollowingU.S. forces strike Iranian-linked oil tankers, escalating the situation in the Strait of Hormuz
The U.S. military said on Sunday that an Iranian-linked oil tanker sank in the Gulf of Oman. Earlier, the U.S. military struck three crude oil carriers in retaliation for an Iranian missile attack on a U.S. Navy warship, exacerbating the standoff over one of the world's most important energy corridors.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that the tanker known as the USS Kylo, also known as the Noxen, sank after being hit on Saturday. The Central Command previously stated that the ship was unloaded and that the crew had been ordered to abandon the ship before being hit in multiple places by the US military. Video released by the headquarters showed the damaged tanker leaning and gradually sinking.
The strike was in response to multiple ballistic missile attacks by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on a U.S. aircraft carrier and a missile destroyer in regional waters. The military said the two warships successfully avoided the attack and no American personnel were injured.
The U.S. military targeted Iran's oil shipping network
Central Command said that the U.S. military also permanently paralyzed the Downy near Hark Island and the Stark 1 oil tanker near Jask. The command noted that all three tankers were part of a multibillion-dollar shipping network that helped fund the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its regional partners.
The location where the Downy was hit further increases the market significance of the upgrade. Hark Island has historically handled about 90 percent of Iran's crude oil exports, although Iranian oil shipments have been disrupted due to the ongoing conflict and U.S. blockade measures.
Iran responded that its forces targeted three oil tankers using what Tehran called the "unauthorized Strait of Hormuz route" and three other ships linked to the United States. These claims have not been independently confirmed.
The standoff continued on Sunday. Iran says it struck an unmanned U.S. ship trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz. As of the latest report, the United States has not confirmed this statement.
The Strait of Hormuz puts oil markets on guard
When the tanker strike occurred, the oil market was closed due to a weekend closure, so its full impact on Brent crude oil and West Texas Intermediate crude oil (WTI) prices will not be clear until futures trading resumes.
At the close on Friday, Brent crude oil per barrel closed at US$96.28, a weekly increase of 7.6%;WTI crude oil closed at US$91.48, an increase of nearly 10% over the same period. Those price increases came before Saturday's tanker attack and Sunday's confirmation that the Kylo sank.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has also been significantly reduced. Preliminary data showed only four commodity cargo ships crossed the waterway on Thursday, down from nine on Wednesday and well below the ten-day average of about 15. The data does not include ships with tracking transponders turned off.
Before the Iranian conflict broke out in February, about 125 large merchant ships crossed the strait every day. The route has long been crucial to the global flow of crude oil and liquefied natural gas, making military activity near Hark Island, Jask and the Gulf of Oman particularly sensitive to energy markets.
The current market focus is on whether the latest confrontation between the United States and Iran will further restrict tanker traffic or threaten regional oil exports. If the disruption persists, it could put pressure on crude oil prices and inflation expectations, while if hostility eases or shipping flows improve, it could limit geopolitical risk premiums when markets reopen.
