IRGC Claims Largest Shipping Attack Wave of the War — 10 Vessels Targeted; Seafarer Killed, One Missing Off Dubai

Iran's IRGC said it targeted 10 vessels in the Strait of Hormuz region on Sept 9 — two US Navy ships (both attempts failed, per CENTCOM) and eight commercial tankers — in what analysts described as the largest declared wave of shipping attacks by either side since the war began. UKMTO reported several merchant vessels struck by disabling fire overnight in the northern Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. The Gibraltar-flagged oil products tanker Hercules Star was hit at anchorage roughly 24 nautical miles off Dubai's Port Rashid; charterer Peninsula confirmed one seafarer killed and a second missing, with maritime security sources saying the vessel may have been struck by a drone (unconfirmed, and Peninsula has not confirmed a cause). Separately, the Panama-flagged, Greek-owned tanker New Andros, carrying about 2 million barrels of Iraqi fuel oil under charter to the Iraqi Oil Tankers Company, caught fire after a drone strike in Iraqi territorial waters near Al-Faw at approximately 0600 local time; Iraq's oil ministry reported only minor hull damage and no injuries among the 22 crew. No group claimed the Hercules Star or New Andros attacks specifically. CENTCOM said no US vessel was struck and that 'all IRGC attempted attacks failed.'