The British Maritime Trade Operations Office said that on October 29, an oil tanker was attacked by a speedboat in the Strait of Hormuz. The attackers used explosives to damage the engine of this large ship. This is the first such attack in the current conflict, and Iran has previously used similar tactics to attack merchant ships. The UKMTO said that the attack on Thursday was carried out by several people aboard a small speedboat. The explosion occurred above the water line and did not cause any injuries. The fire once caused the ship to not operate normally, but the tanker continued to sail. These weapons, known as “absorbent mines,” are usually fixed near or to the bottom of a ship's waterline to maximize damage. A US official said earlier this week that no ship had ever touched a floating mine while passing through the strait before. In 2021 and 2024, Iran claimed that its ships were attacked by absorbent mines. Earlier, an oil tanker flying the Liberian flag found a suspicious object on its hull near the Iraqi coast, which was confirmed to be an adsorption mine, and the Iraqi security forces subsequently dismantled the device.

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