# Iran says mines disabled two supertankers near Hormuz as Brent settles at $116.72

Asian buyers are paying more for the war even though more oil now moves through the strait than before it began: shipping US crude to Asia now costs four times what it did in mid-August, and fuel oil in Singapore costs more than crude.

- Published: 2026-10-25T05:18:39.834Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-10-25/iran-says-mines-disabled-two-supertankers-near-hormuz-as-bre
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: markets
- Sources: [Africanews](http://www.africanews.com/2026/10/24/two-unauthorised-oil-tankers-struck-in-strait-of-hormuz-iran-says/), [OilPrice](https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Record-Tanker-Rates-Cripple-US-Crude-Oil-Flows-to-Asia.html), [OilPrice](https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Fuel-Oil-Becomes-Asias-Next-Cost-Shock.html), [Shahrara News (Farsi)](https://shahraranews.ir/fa/news/454520/%D8%B3%D9%BE%D8%A7%D9%87-%D8%AF%D9%88-%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%BE%D8%B1-%D9%86%D9%81%D8%AA%DA%A9%D8%B4-%D9%BE%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%AF%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D9%86%DA%AF%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B2-%D9%85%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%82%D9%81-%D8%B4%D8%AF%D9%86%D8%AF-%DB%8C%DA%A9%D9%85-%D8%A2%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86-1405)

The navy of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said two supertankers it called "unauthorised" [struck naval mines near the Strait of Hormuz on Friday](http://www.africanews.com/2026/10/24/two-unauthorised-oil-tankers-struck-in-strait-of-hormuz-iran-says/). On Thursday, Britain reported that an unknown projectile had hit a ship crossing the strait. Iranian outlets, translated from Farsi, reported that explosions and fires disabled the engine rooms of both tankers, which were [carrying more than 4.5 million barrels of crude between them](https://shahraranews.ir/fa/news/454520/%D8%B3%D9%BE%D8%A7%D9%87-%D8%AF%D9%88-%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%BE%D8%B1-%D9%86%D9%81%D8%AA%DA%A9%D8%B4-%D9%BE%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%AF%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D9%86%DA%AF%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B2-%D9%85%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%82%D9%81-%D8%B4%D8%AF%D9%86%D8%AF-%DB%8C%DA%A9%D9%85-%D8%A2%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86-1405).

Iran uses the word "unauthorised" for the southern channel near the coast of Oman. According to [Euronews Persian](https://parsi.euronews.com/2026/10/12/third-tanker-mine-explosion-hormuz-irgc-drone-hormuz-oct-2026), United States naval forces direct ships through that channel. The IRGC has reported similar mine strikes on [October 12](https://parsi.euronews.com/2026/10/12/third-tanker-mine-explosion-hormuz-irgc-drone-hormuz-oct-2026), [October 17](https://parsi.euronews.com/2026/10/17/iran-irgc-oil-supertanker-mine-explosion-strait-of-hormuz) and [October 19](https://parsi.euronews.com/2026/10/19/tanker-hits-sea-mine-strait-of-hormuz-irgc-oct-2026). It has also warned it will act against ships that switch off their navigation and identification systems. The available reports do not say who laid the mines. Tehran presents each strike as the cost of using a route it does not approve.

Brent crude [settled at $116.72 a barrel on Friday, up 3.1%](https://www.riotimesonline.com/oil-markets-latam-friday-october-23-2026), its [highest in nearly six months](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/stocks-fall-but-tech-shares-steady-after-selloff-oil-hits-highest-in-nearly-six-months-ce785cdfdc8ff02c). Traders pointed to Houthi attacks on Saudi energy sites and to Saudi Aramco's evacuation of its Dhahran headquarters. The same market report says oil volumes through Hormuz are now above pre-war levels, while Iran's own seaborne exports fell to zero in September and October under US sanctions and a naval blockade. Most of the current disruption is in the cost and routing of cargoes, not in the total volume moved.

Those costs are high. OilPrice reports that tanker freight has reached [record levels and has removed most of the profit from shipping crude from the US Gulf Coast to Asia](https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Record-Tanker-Rates-Cripple-US-Crude-Oil-Flows-to-Asia.html). According to [RBN Energy](https://rbnenergy.com/daily-posts/analyst-insight/70-million-breather-vlcc-freight-costs-remain-sky-high), chartering a very large crude carrier (a tanker holding about 2 million barrels) for that route reached $80 million per voyage on October 9, or about $40 a barrel. The rate eased to just under $70 million by October 16. Freight on the route has risen more than 300% since mid-August, partly because ship-to-ship transfers used to avoid Hormuz keep vessels busy for longer.

The cost increase has also reached marine fuel. In Singapore, high-sulphur fuel oil now [trades above the price of the crude used to make it](https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Fuel-Oil-Becomes-Asias-Next-Cost-Shock.html), according to OilPrice. The causes are disrupted supply from the Middle East and Russia, steady bunker demand, and freight rates high enough to block cargoes from other regions. The energy shock has also reached monetary policy. Rising oil prices led traders to [increase bets that the Federal Reserve will raise rates](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/23/gold-heads-for-steep-weekly-loss-as-oil-prices-fuel-fed-rate-concerns.html) at its October 27–28 meeting.

## What this means

With the US Navy escorting ships, Iran cannot cut Gulf volumes, but it can raise the cost of each voyage. Mine strikes on the escorted channel push up insurance, freight and bunker costs, and Asian refiners in Japan, Korea and India pay those costs before they show in the Brent price. US Gulf Coast exporters lose their route to Asia, while tanker owners and suppliers closer to Asia gain. The market consensus watches Brent, but the delivered cost of a barrel in Asia is moving faster, and that cost feeds directly into import bills and inflation. The closest precedent is the 1987–88 Tanker War. Ships kept moving under US escort, and the reflagged tanker Bridgeton hit a mine on the first escorted convoy, but freight and insurance stayed high until the Iran-Iraq ceasefire in 1988. The desk's read is that freight and fuel-oil premiums stay high for weeks to months as long as mine strikes on the southern channel continue, even if Brent itself eases. That keeps energy inflation in the Federal Reserve's data. This read is wrong if the strikes stop for several weeks and supertanker rates fall back toward summer levels, or if Washington and Tehran agree on transit arrangements that Iran stops contesting.

## What to watch

- Whether the IRGC reports more mine strikes on the southern channel. Each new incident shows whether Tehran is keeping up a steady campaign or making isolated warnings.
- Freight rates for supertankers from the US Gulf Coast to Asia. A sustained fall would mean the cost problem is easing even if headline crude prices stay high.
- The Federal Reserve's October 28 decision and statement. These will show whether policymakers treat the oil shock as inflation to fight or as a growth shock to wait out.