The IRGC navy accused the tanker of having turned off its positioning and radar systems in an effort to evade detection.
A super tanker has caught fire after striking a sea mine in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday.
In a statement shared via Iranian state media, the IRGC’s navy said a tanker carrying more than two million barrels of oil struck a mine whilst “attempting to pass through an unauthorised route” in the Strait, causing a “massive explosion” and a “fierce fire.” It is unclear exactly where the incident took place.
Let me be clear, the Strait of Hormuz is controlled by the United States and our regional partners, not Iran," he said. “It remains open for business.”
Sure buddy
I continue to be shocked that the tanker owners and insurance companies keep allowing them to traverse this war zone. Those super tankers cost like 100 million or more, and insurance traditionally would shut down any coverage.
Meaning, I bet the US is subsidizing the insurance on the down low.
Spoke with someone from the region recently and they were telling me how there are new insurance companies that provide this specific wartime coverage at a massive premium. And it’s because there are companies there, that are dependent on the strait, which are willing to pay premiums to the shipping corporations to transport their goods. And so desperate for money shipping corps are willing to pay the insurance premiums (or not get insurance for a massive payout from the companies).
Basically, lots of money to be made with the Strait of Hormuz closed, both out of desperation and disaster capitalism.
That is their cover, those new insurance companies were created with the help of the US for that purpose, and are being subsidized by them, I am certain.
Although that doesn’t make your point any less true or valid both can be true, and are, I believe.
You don’t happen to have any sort of other information on these new insurance companies I can dig into do you? I guess it’s probably public information if you know where to find it.
Edit: To add, the cost of damages to shipping would exceed the profits from shipping this oil throughout this war I would think. It takes a lot of trips to make 100 million in profit, let alone the opportunity cost of having them out of operation waiting for repairs, there’s a backlog in the shipyards building these already (mostly china I hear,) as I understand it.
Something is fishy here. Or oily, the fish are all dead from the oil but you get my drift.
To add, the cost of damages to shipping would exceed the profits from shipping this oil throughout this war I would think. It takes a lot of trips to make 100 million in profit, let alone the opportunity cost of having them out of operation waiting for repairs, there’s a backlog in the shipyards building these already (mostly china I hear,) as I understand it.
Current VLCC rates are about 800k / day. Average sailing times ex-Gulf to the PRC are about 30 days (including various types of delays).
You don’t happen to have any sort of other information on these new insurance companies I can dig into do you? I guess it’s probably public information if you know where to find it.
There are not really any new ones; that never happened. But there are plenty of bullshit ones who could never pay out. Talking about P&I (property and immunity) rather than H&M (hull and machinery. You can search Lloydslist.com and if you find any articles about this you want, ping me and I’ll send them to you.
They’re using smaller tankers that load up with oil in the gulf, traverse the strait, then transfer ship to ship to tankers in the Indian ocean. Most of the smaller tankers are owned by the Gulf states and are insured by them too.
It’s odd that a supertanker was trying to go through the strait. Of course right now it’s just a claim by the IRGC, so best to wait for confirmation from a reputable source. It’s seems likely it was a smaller tanker (which do get hit from time to time, just doesn’t make the news) and the IRGC is exaggerating.
I read these this morning, and there is a new one here I didn’t see:
‘State media said both tankers were carrying about 2 million barrels of crude oil. There was no independent confirmation of the reports.’ As you say.
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/supertanker-rates-fall-record-highs-2026-10-16/
The Houthis have been hitting all sorts of Saudi infrastructure too, ports, oil stuff.
Ahhh yes, this will be great for local sea life and the environment. Bunch of selfish fuckers all around
To think how none of this would have happened, and how those school girls and many other people would still be alive, had a pedophile in desperate need of a distraction not been in a position to initiate an unwinnable war.
Yeah, but she had a weird laugh.
Yeah. Nobody could possibly have objected to her policy positions. If it hadn’t been for that darn laugh she’d be in office now.
Even the “autopsy” was such wishy washy bullshit. I can’t believe hardcore Dems are still so disconnected and willfully ignorant about how bad they’ve been doing for decades before Trump.
What’s unfortunate is that instead of changing their policies to align with what their base wants, they still try and do comparison politics.
Like why not just fucking change their policies? They’re really waiting for things to get so bad that people vote for them out of desperation instead?
Objected to her policy positions, so chose to let Trump win … because his policies were better? Well, you get what you voted for.
The worst part is he ISN’T in a position to sustain a war for this long. It’s just that no one is doing anything about it.
None of this would have happened if Iran’s fascist government also didn’t need external enemies to blame their economic problems on and didn’t support terrorism throughout the region.
It is indeed assholes on all sides.
The insurance companies should require each tanker to have a minesweeper ship in front of it. Costs would be higher than normal, but surely not higher than the cost of replacing an entire hull and the value of its oil cargo?
A minesweeping ship which on it’s own can keep the entire depth and width a supertanker needs clear is probably nonexistant, and also does not help against drone boats or UAVs.
No sane freighter tries to sneak by because of this. That one was probably motivated by greed due to high oil prices, and see what it got them.
The insurance companies should not allow transit at all. That they do, means someone is subsidizing them to do so secretly, and that is the truth.
Those things costed 100 million or more even before 2015 and all the inflation.
A “super tanker” (a VLCC or Suezmax) built in 2015 would be about 100m. I new one built today would be between 300m-500m.
You venture in with your ship believing the US secured it then you deserve it
