On the morning of Wednesday 11 March 2026 the UK Navy reported that a cargo ship, whose name has not been disclosed, was hit by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz area while sailing about 11 nautical miles off the coast of Oman. The vessel issued a distress call and its crew was evacuated. The British monitoring body Ukmto has recorded at least ten incidents involving attacks on ships in the Hormuz area between 28 February — the date of the United States and Israeli attack on Iran — and 10 March, stating that the situation remains “critical”. In recent days the United States announced the possibility of providing military escorts for cargo ships crossing the strait, but no action has yet been taken. On the contrary, the White House denied reports that appeared on social media on 10 March claiming that the US Navy had escorted an oil tanker.
Meanwhile, US intelligence issued a warning on 10 March about the possible deployment of mines in the strait, threatening Iran with severe retaliation should this occur. CNN reported that some mines may already have been deployed, although not on a large scale, citing an anonymous source. Iran could deploy hundreds of mines and explosive buoys in the strait and also use anti-ship missiles, potentially blocking navigation for a prolonged period. On the same day the US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, said that US Central Command had destroyed sixteen Iranian minelaying boats, also posting a video of one of the attacks.
