Tanker attack off Oman injures 11 Indian sailors as Hormuz strikes rise and Brent holds near $100

Oman's air force evacuated injured crew from the MT On Peace, a Panama-flagged tanker that was struck on Tuesday about nine nautical miles off the Omani port of Limah in the Strait of Hormuz. Al Jazeera reported that India's Foreign Ministry said 11 of the 12 injured crew members are Indian nationals. Business Standard reported that 17 of the 19 crew were Indian and that no group had claimed the attack. New Delhi called the continuing attacks on shipping "a cause of deep concern" and asked for them to stop immediately.

The attack adds to a growing tally. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO) has logged nine attacks in the strait so far in October, half of its total for September, Bloomberg reported. Bloomberg attributed the increase to Iran. Three tankers were hit by unidentified projectiles over the weekend.

The higher attack rate comes as volumes return. Middle Eastern crude exports passed 18 million barrels a day on several days in late September, above pre-war levels, according to Kpler data cited by CNBC. Prices have not fallen as flows recovered. OilPrice notes that Brent has stayed above $100 for most of the past month, even though tanker trackers and banks report that flows have recovered. Part of the reason is that the recovered flows depend on a large US military commitment to escort tankers along a southern route close to the coast of Oman. Brent settled near $100.30 on Tuesday. Crude then rose in Asian trading on Wednesday as storms and air strikes threatened supply.

Gas markets show a similar pattern. An Iranian strike in March on Qatar's Ras Laffan complex put 17% of the country's liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity out of service. Exporters whose cargoes do not pass through the strait, mainly in the United States, have won business from European and Asian buyers since then.