UK Maritime Reports Drone Attacks On Two Commercial Vessels On Strait Of Hormuz | Sahara Reporters

The UK trade organisation said that all crew members aboard the two vessels were reported safe following the incidents.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Center has issued two separate advisories following reports of attacks on commercial vessels transiting outbound through the Strait of Hormuz, amid heightened tensions in the strategically important waterway.

According to the UKMTO, both vessels were reportedly struck by one-way attack drones (UAVs) while travelling through the Strait of Hormuz.

The UK trade organisation said that all crew members aboard the two vessels were reported safe following the incidents.

It also said there had been no reported environmental impact or pollution resulting from the attacks.

The incidents come amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, with the Strait of Hormuz remaining a critical maritime route for global energy and commercial shipping.

The latest reports also raise questions over the security of commercial vessels navigating the waterway, despite United States President Donald Trump’s recent claim that the US Navy has full control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump had described the waterway as being under an “infallible” blockade, asserting that American forces had established complete control over the strategic passage.

“The only one that has control of the Strait of Hormuz right now is the United States Navy. We have a blockade that’s been infallible—it’s a steel wall… We control the Strait, 100%.”

Trump made the statement as tensions between Washington and Tehran remained high following months of military confrontation between the two countries.

The UKMTO advisories, however, reported two separate incidents involving commercial vessels being struck by one-way attack drones while transiting the waterway.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most strategically significant maritime passages, serving as a major route for international energy shipments and commercial traffic.

The reported attacks occurred as Trump also demanded that Iran pay compensation to Americans killed or wounded in conflicts involving Tehran, including those killed in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole.

Earlier on Monday, Trump accused Iran of killing hundreds of thousands of protesters over the past five decades and demanded compensation from Tehran.

He made the demand in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, after claiming that representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran were seeking compensation for damage suffered during the five-month military conflict between the two sides.

According to Trump, the Iranian demand had not been raised during previous negotiations or meetings. He said, however, that he now considered it an opportunity to seek compensation from Tehran for what he described as decades of Iranian-backed violence.

“I see that Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran are asking for compensation for the damage done to them during the last five-month military conflict (started because they will not have a nuclear weapon), even though it was never mentioned in any If our negotiations or meetings!” Trump wrote.

“But it is an interesting idea because now I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts, for which they are famous, as led initially by General Soleimani.”

Trump specifically cited the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, a United States Navy destroyer that was attacked while refuelling at Yemen’s Aden port.

The attack killed 17 US service members and injured dozens of others. The United States later attributed responsibility for the bombing to al-Qaeda.

Trump said compensation should also extend to other Americans killed in combat, as well as the families of Iranian protesters whom he alleged had been killed by the Iranian government over several decades.

“Additionally, compensation should be paid to the families of the hundreds of thousands of innocent protestors that Iran has killed over the last 50 years, not to mention the 52,000 that have been killed in the last five months,” he said.

The UKMTO reports of the two drone attacks add to growing concerns over maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz, particularly as military tensions involving the United States and Iran continue to affect commercial shipping and regional security.

While the UKMTO said all crew members were safe and no pollution had been reported in either incident, the reported use of one-way attack drones against commercial vessels highlights the continuing risks facing ships operating in the waterway.