About 10 vessels in or near the Strait of Hormuz have come under attack since Iran blocked the strategic waterway in retaliation for United States-Israeli strikes, data analysis groups report.

The attacks throughout the week following the outbreak of war on February 28 almost completely halted traffic through the strait, a crucial route for oil and other goods.

Britain’s maritime security agency UKMTO has issued around 10 alerts for attacks as well as warnings of suspicious activity but has released few details on the vessels involved.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) listed on its website at the weekend a total of nine attacks on ships in the strait in one week, including four incidents that killed a total of seven people.

Seven reported killed

The IMO said one person was killed in each of three attacks on the vessels Skylight, MKD Vyom and the Stena Imperative on March 2, when the Hercules Star was also hit.

Between March 3 and 5 four more vessels were struck: the Libra Trader, Gold Oak, Safeen Prestige and the Sonangol Namibe.

On March 6, four people were killed when the Mussafah 2 was struck.

Indonesia announced on Sunday that a vessel whose characteristics and last known position matched those of the Mussafah 2 sank two days earlier, but with a different toll.

Jakarta reported three Indonesian crew members missing, one injured Indonesian survivor and four survivors of other nationalities.

The strait normally sees 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas transit it, but tanker traffic there has dropped by 90% in a week, according to analysis firm Kpler, which operates the MarineTraffic platform.

According MarineTraffic data analysed by AFP on Friday local time, only nine commercial ships - tankers, cargo vessels and container ships - had been detected crossing the strait since Monday local time, with some intermittently masking their position.

Rescuers targeted

Maritime security firm Vanguard said the Mussafah 2 was hit by two missiles as it tried to assist the container ship Safeen Prestige, which had been struck by a missile two days earlier.

“Recent incident reporting ... indicates that vessels providing assistance or salvage operations to previously targeted vessels may also face elevated risk of follow-on strikes,” the Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC), run by a Western naval coalition, warned.

“The observed pattern of strikes against anchored vessels, drifting ships, and assistance vessels indicates a campaign focused on creating operational uncertainty and deterring routine commercial movement rather than a sustained attempt to sink vessels.”

Drone and missile attacks claimed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are not always confirmed by independent sources - some are confirmed only after several days, and the vessels involved are not always identified. Casualty tolls can vary.

Iran’s mixed messages

Iran exports its own oil via the Strait of Hormuz and its intentions remain unclear.

A Revolutionary Guards general warned on March 2 that Iran would “burn any ship” attempting to cross the strait and block all Gulf oil exports.

But Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said it had “no intention” of closing the Strait of Hormuz.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said it would escort merchant ships attempting to transit the strait “as soon as it’s reasonable to do it”.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he was seeking to build a coalition to secure the “sea lanes essential to the global economy” in the region.

-Agence France-Presse