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

Gulf crude exports have climbed back above pre-war levels, but the UK maritime security agency has logged nine attacks in the area this month, half of September's total.

- Published: 2026-10-07T05:05:29.901Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-10-07/tanker-attack-off-oman-injures-11-indian-sailors-as-hormuz-s
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: markets
- Sources: [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/7/oman-evacuates-injured-crew-from-attacked-tanker-in-strait-of-hormuz), [OilPrice](https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Why-100-Oil-Is-Hard-to-Kill.html), [Investing.com Commodities](https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-prices-rise-as-storms-and-air-strikes-threaten-supply-4935487), [OilPrice (Natural Gas)](https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/5-Natural-Gas-Stocks-Profiting-From-the-Strait-of-Hormuz-Standoff.html)

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](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/7/oman-evacuates-injured-crew-from-attacked-tanker-in-strait-of-hormuz) that India's Foreign Ministry said 11 of the 12 injured crew members are Indian nationals. [Business Standard reported](https://www.business-standard.com/amp/external-affairs-defence-security/news/11-indians-injured-as-projectile-hits-ship-in-hormuz-india-condemns-attack-126100700028_1.html) 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](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-06/iran-ramps-up-ship-attacks-in-hormuz-as-oil-and-gas-flows-climb). 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](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/06/crude-oil-tanker-strait-hormuz-iran-attack.html). Prices have not fallen as flows recovered. [OilPrice](https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Why-100-Oil-Is-Hard-to-Kill.html) 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](https://gulfnews.com/business/energy/oil-prices-fall-brent-settles-at-10032-as-markets-weigh-higher-gulf-exports-g7-supply-boost-1.500699626) on Tuesday. Crude then rose in Asian trading on Wednesday as [storms and air strikes threatened supply](https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-prices-rise-as-storms-and-air-strikes-threaten-supply-4935487).

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](https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/5-Natural-Gas-Stocks-Profiting-From-the-Strait-of-Hormuz-Standoff.html). Exporters whose cargoes do not pass through the strait, mainly in the United States, have won business from European and Asian buyers since then.

## What this means

The market is now pricing the cost of moving each barrel. Naval escorts, war-risk insurance and crew danger add a per-cargo cost that does not fall as volumes rise. That cost explains why Brent stays near $100 while exports exceed pre-war levels. The parties exposed are Asian importers that buy Gulf crude (India first, as Wednesday's rate hike shows), the countries that supply most tanker crews, and shipowners whose insurance terms reset with every incident. Producers outside the Gulf and US LNG exporters gain. The consensus treats recovered flows as a sign of normalisation. The rising attack count shows the opposite: a supply that holds steady only because of a security effort that can fail. The precedent is the 1987–88 "Tanker War," when US-escorted convoys kept Gulf oil moving while attacks continued until the Iran-Iraq ceasefire. The desk's read: while UKMTO's attack count keeps rising, Brent is likelier to stay at or above $100 over the coming weeks regardless of export volumes. A sustained fall in the attack rate, or an enrichment deal between Washington and Tehran, would prove that read wrong.

## What to watch

- UKMTO's weekly attack count for the strait. A continued increase while volumes stay high would confirm that the risk premium, not supply, sets the price.
- Whether India or other crew-supplying countries restrict their nationals from serving on Gulf routes. Such a restriction would cut tanker availability more than any single strike.
- The premium of Gulf grades loaded outside the strait over Brent. A widening gap would show buyers paying more to avoid Hormuz risk.