Tanker disabled as Hormuz backlog reaches 492 vessels

By Tom Whitfield

Approximately 492 vessels were waiting outside the Strait of Hormuz as of October 25, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center, even as JMIC kept its threat assessment for the waterway at SEVERE and warned that “further deliberate attacks were highly likely.”

The backlog clustered around Fujairah, Khor Fakkan and other regional anchorages. Commercial traffic remained well below historical levels despite U.S. efforts to restore shipping through the strait.

JMIC counted 101 U.S.-facilitated transits between October 22 and 24, against a historical average of about 138 vessels per day in 2025. Separate tracking showed only single-digit daily transits outside the U.S.-facilitated system.

The counts do not cover the same universe: the U.S. tally covers assisted transits rather than all commercial movements, so it cannot support a direct like-for-like comparison with the historical benchmark. Together with the queue, it shows heavily constrained passage capacity.

U.S. forces were enforcing a naval blockade of Iranian ports while working to maintain safe passage for other commercial shipping.

The latest incidents

One recent incident involved an LPG tanker struck by an unidentified projectile on October 22, approximately seven nautical miles northeast of Limah, Oman. The vessel subsequently reached an anchorage off Khor Fakkan.

A second tanker was disabled in the Strait of Hormuz on October 23. UKMTO received a verified, time-late report that an unknown projectile hit the vessel while it transited outbound at 0839 UTC. All crew members were safe.

UKMTO did not identify the tanker or describe the damage, and no assessment of possible environmental effects was available. The agency disclosed the incident Monday, three days after it occurred, underscoring continuing delays in reporting attacks on commercial vessels.

In a separate Monday warning, UKMTO relayed multiple third-party reports of a vessel on fire about 63 nautical miles southeast of Al-Faw, Iraq, in the northern Persian Gulf. The vessel’s identity, crew status, damage and potential environmental impact remained unknown.

UKMTO classified the fire report as “suspicious activity,” not a confirmed attack. The cause remained unclear, and authorities were investigating.

What changes for shippers, carriers and forwarders?

First, passage capacity remains scarce. A carrier keeps a vessel out of position while it waits to enter Hormuz, which reduces schedule certainty and leaves less capacity available for the next voyage. JMIC’s 492-vessel estimate makes that constraint measurable.

Second, risk does not end when a ship clears the strait. JMIC said vessels waiting at anchor or conducting ship-to-ship cargo transfers remain exposed. Routing a vessel from the transit queue into a regional anchorage or transfer area can move the danger rather than remove it.

For shippers, that means cargo plans tied to a vessel or STS transfer need current route and anchorage information. Carriers and forwarders must weigh a severely restricted safe-passage channel against continued exposure around Fujairah, Khor Fakkan and other waiting points.

The advisory provides no freight-rate, cargo-volume or delay series, so it does not support a quantified rate forecast. The commercial signal is constrained safe-passage capacity and schedule risk, not a documented price move.

The wider threat

JMIC rated the wider Persian Gulf SUBSTANTIAL, citing five attacks inside the gulf since October 7, including incidents near anchorages and ship-to-ship transfer areas. It also reported 156 confirmed maritime security incidents across the region since March 1. That count predates UKMTO’s disclosure of the latest verified tanker attack.

The center said Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps activity continued to include attacks, attempted attacks, drone overflights, surveillance and radio communications directing commercial vessels toward Iranian-controlled routes. JMIC also warned of projectile attacks, possible renewed mining activity and electronic navigation interference in the Strait.

UKMTO advised vessels operating in the affected areas to exercise caution and report suspicious activity while investigations continue. The incidents show violence extending beyond Hormuz into the wider Persian Gulf, where both moving and stationary ships face risk.

The near-term capacity trajectory depends on whether U.S.-facilitated passages can increase from the October 22-24 tally while JMIC’s assessments remain in force. Until the queue falls, freight-rate commentary should start from constrained, exposed passage capacity rather than a normal-market baseline; the available data do not support sizing a rate move.

Watch the count of waiting vessels and the pace of assisted transits next. A rising queue or a fresh strike would tighten an already severe operating environment before any published freight-rate series captures the change.