LONDON — Commercial tankers face a growing risk of attack and intimidation around the Strait of Hormuz after Iran warned regional countries against using alternative oil-export routes it has not authorized, Reuters reported Thursday.

Regional officials and diplomats briefed by Tehran told Reuters that Iran considered attempts to open new export routes hostile. One diplomat said possible enforcement could include missile or drone attacks on ships or the use of boats to drive vessels away. Those accounts describe Iran's reported policy; Reuters did not identify a public operational order specifying targets or timing.

Projectiles hit tanker north of Qatar

In the latest incident, multiple projectiles struck the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged chemical tanker Acers about 51 nautical miles off Qatar, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency and maritime-security sources. Reuters reported that crew members suffered minor injuries. The vessel's operator could not be reached for comment.

The strike raises concern that the combat area is spreading to approaches serving Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. Shipping-security firms recorded at least 12 attacks on oil, liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas tankers around Hormuz in the week ending October 5, the highest weekly total since the Iran war began.

Alternative route is now part of the confrontation

Gulf producers have used channels near Oman's side of the strait and transfers in the Gulf of Oman to keep exports moving. Iranian officials have disputed the legality and scale of that traffic and said routes outside Tehran's control would be closed.

The accounts from Iran, the United States and maritime authorities differ on how much traffic is moving through Hormuz and who controls the waterway. Claims about responsibility for individual attacks remain subject to verification.

Before the war, the strait carried shipments equal to roughly one-fifth of global oil and fuel consumption. The latest threats therefore matter beyond the region: prolonged disruption can affect benchmark energy prices, freight costs and supply chains, including those faced by Canadian consumers and businesses. No direct Canadian shipping disruption or government measure was announced in the reports reviewed for this article.

Sources: Reuters, October 8; The Guardian, updated October 8.

Lead image: map of the Strait of Hormuz by Goran_tek-en via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, using OpenStreetMap data under ODbL; map, not an image of the reported attacks.