Oil Is Back in Hormuz. So Who Keeps Hitting the Ships, and Why?

Oil is moving through the Strait of Hormuz again. According to Kpler, Gulf crude exports averaged 18.3 million barrels a day in the seven days to September 30, about where they were before the war. Yet on Sunday, October 11, six ships were hit around the strait, and the day before, a U.S. fighter jet disabled the cargo ship Ocean Molica as it tried to run the blockade on Iran. So why is a ship being hit almost every day, and who is doing the hitting? The Strait of Hormuz explained, on the map: the tanker shuttle that runs along Oman's coast with transponders off, Iran's rules for that route, the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, why U.S. gas prices are still $4.34 a gallon (AAA, Oct 13), what the 1980s tanker war tells us, and three things to watch next. CHAPTERS 00:00 Six ships in one Sunday 01:32 Rubio vs. Iran: open or closed? 02:30 What the data says 03:21 The shuttle 05:07 "Almost every day": who is counting 06:21 Who is firing? 07:53 Iran's rules for the shuttle road 09:39 The American side: the blockade 12:59 Allies heading home 13:37 Your gas pump 15:52 We've seen this before: the 1980s tanker war 17:06 Three things to watch KEY SOURCES 00:02 Petro Dolphin hit off Sohar, 2 sailors missing (Arab News Pakistan): https://www.arabnews.pk/middle-east/t... 00:15 Six ships hit on Oct 11 (gCaptain): https://gcaptain.com/new-reports-reve... 00:26 CENTCOM disables the Ocean Molica (Al Jazeera, Oct 11): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1... 00:41 Kpler: Gulf crude exports back near pre-war (Al Jazeera, Oct 6): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1... 01:40 Rubio: "The Strait of Hormuz is open." (The National, Oct 7): https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/... 02:36 How Gulf exports came back (Kpler): https://www.kpler.com/blog/explainer-... 03:51 The tanker shuttle (Reuters column via MarineLink): https://www.marinelink.com/news/tanke... 05:37 UKMTO: 18 reports by Oct 13 (Seatrade Maritime, Oct 13): https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/sec... 05:47 IMO: at least 24 seafarers killed (Reuters via Alhurra): https://alhurra.com/en/45443 07:57 41 of 59 incidents on the southern route (Reuters via Alhurra): https://alhurra.com/en/45443 09:58 CENTCOM blockade figures (Al Jazeera, Oct 11): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1... 13:05 Allied warships heading home (USNI News, Oct 12): https://news.usni.org/2026/10/12/u-k-... 13:54 AAA national averages (AAA): https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=US 16:03 1980s tanker war: 451 attacks (Proceedings, May 1988): https://www.usni.org/magazines/procee... 17:11 Iran's offer and the U.S. response (CBS News live, Oct 12): https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/... NOTE: As of Tuesday, October 13, the two missing Petro Dolphin sailors had not been found, and UKMTO had not blamed anyone for the October attacks. Iran's claims (the NV Sunshine strike, which its operator denies; the October 10 "naval mine"; the October 12 "third" supertanker; and Mohsen Rezaei's claim of five or six ships a night) could not be independently verified; apart from the NV Sunshine, none names a ship. Safavi's remarks are as reported by Iran International; we could not confirm the exact wording. The Pinios transfer is as reported by Reuters. Reports give slightly different dates for the IMO's count of nine. Bloomberg data is cited via Fox News, Lloyd's List via USNI News. "Closer to one every two days" is our own math from IMO counts. Prices change daily. More sources: pinned comment. FOOTAGE & CREDITS Archive footage: U.S. government sources, including DVIDS, U.S. Central Command, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, the State Department and The White House (public domain; no endorsement implied), via DVIDS and Wikimedia Commons; Pexels stock footage. CC BY clip (Wikimedia Commons): IRGC missile launch, Great Prophet XIV exercise, by Fars News Agency (4.0). Archive and illustrative shots are labeled. Maps: Natural Earth, AWS Terrain Tiles. Music and sound effects: Epidemic Sound. Thumbnail: Natural Earth/AWS Terrain map; CENTCOM stills via DVIDS; Rubio: State Dept. portrait (public domain). Full list: pinned comment. CORRECTIONS None yet. #StraitOfHormuz #IranWar #GasPrices