Two oil tankers have allegedly been attacked near the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil gets shipped. The Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous is believed to have been attacked by a magnetic mine while transporting methanol from Saudi Arabia to Singapore. The Norwegian Front Altair was suspected to have been hit by a torpedo while carrying naphtha bound for Taiwan. Crews from both ships were rescued by nearby vessels. The incident occurred during Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s visit to Tehran and took place against a backdrop of high tensions between the US and Iran.
Oil prices rose as much as 4.5% in response to the event.
