RPG attack on tanker 78 miles off Saudi Arabia's Jubail in the Persian Gulf

The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said on Saturday, 17 October 2026, that a tanker 78 nautical miles north-east of the port of Jubail, in eastern Saudi Arabia, in Persian Gulf waters, was hit by an RPG fired from a small boat. It is the second attack on tankers in this area in two days.

According to the agency, the tanker's master confirmed damage to the rear port side of the vessel, and all crew are safe. The full extent of the damage and the environmental consequences of the incident are still unclear. The tanker's name, flag and cargo have not been disclosed, and no group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Two attacks, two different patterns

On Friday, 16 October, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency had also reported an unidentified projectile hitting a tanker 68 nautical miles north-east of Jubail. An RPG fired from a small boat, unlike a projectile fired from a distance, means the attackers approached the ship, a method previously seen in attacks by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps speedboats on commercial vessels. Investigations into both attacks are continuing.

Both attacks took place outside the Strait of Hormuz, in the southern part of the Persian Gulf, an area through which tankers from Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar pass and which, according to maritime experts, is more vulnerable than the waters near Hormuz.

The claim that Hormuz is closed, and the shipping data

The new attack comes at the same time as a claim by the commander of the IRGC Navy, who said on Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz "is closed" and that "violating" ships will be dealt with. Data from the Joint Maritime Information Center does not confirm this claim: from 11 to 14 October the center recorded 121 transits, about 30 a day. The daily average in 2025 was about 138 ships.

The IRGC also claimed on Saturday that a tanker carrying more than two million barrels of oil hit a mine in the Strait of Hormuz; the claim has not been independently confirmed so far. Earlier, CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper had said that 400 commercial ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz in a week.

The RPG attack near Jubail shows that insecurity for shipping has spread from the Strait of Hormuz into the depths of the Persian Gulf.