UKMTO reports tanker struck by projectile off Al Jubayl, Saudi Arabia

Single source · Al Jubayl offshore area, Saudi Arabia · 2026-10-16

UKMTO reports that a tanker was struck by a projectile about 68 nautical miles northeast of Al Jubayl, Saudi Arabia, around 09:00 UTC on 16 October 2026, and that all crew were reported safe. A later UKMTO-attributed report, relayed by ME Observer and Tasnim, describes an RPG fired from a small boat about 78 NM northeast of Jubail at 19:22 UTC, causing aft damage with the crew safe. TradeWinds describes a small-boat grenade attack on a VLCC off Saudi Arabia, and FTL Somalia and Anadolu report an unknown projectile or second tanker attack off the Saudi coast without figures.

Unofficial; built automatically from public posts and can be wrong. Verify before acting.

Verification

Single source: 1 independent source.

Sources disagree on:

• Distance: 68 NM northeast of Al Jubayl/Jubail (UKMTO posts, Tasnim, ME Observer 07:27 UTC) versus 78 NM northeast of Jubail/Al Jubayl (UKMTO master report, ME Observer 08:27 UTC, Tasnim 08:28 UTC).
• Time: 09:00 UTC on 16 October (UKMTO 06:27 UTC post, Tasnim) versus 19:22 UTC on 16 October (UKMTO master report).
• Weapon: unidentified projectile (UKMTO 68 NM posts, Tasnim, FTL Somalia) versus RPG fired from a small boat (UKMTO 78 NM report, ME Observer, Tasnim 08:28 UTC) versus grenade by a small boat team (TradeWinds).
• Damage location: aft port quarter (UKMTO) versus rear left section (ME Observer) versus aft port side (Tasnim).
• Number of ships: Middle East Eye says UKMTO reported at least two other tankers hit since the previous day, while other sources describe one tanker; Anadolu and FTL Somalia refer to a second tanker attack without giving figures.
• Middle East Eye headline says the IRGC declared the Strait of Hormuz closed after tankers were hit; no listed claim body supports that headline.
• Place: FTL Somalia, TradeWinds, ME Observer and Middle East Eye place the incident in the Red Sea, while the other claims place it in the Persian Gulf; Al Jubayl and Jubail are on the Gulf coast.

Sources

• UKMTO Operations Centre (X), 2026-10-17 06:27 UTC
• Tasnim News (Telegram), 2026-10-17 06:38 UTC
• @ME_Observer_ (X), 2026-10-17 07:27 UTC
• UKMTO Operations Centre (X), 2026-10-17 07:27 UTC
• FTL Somalia, 2026-10-17 08:22 UTC
• @ME_Observer_ (X), 2026-10-17 08:27 UTC
• Tasnim News (Telegram), 2026-10-17 08:28 UTC
• UA.NEWS, 2026-10-17 08:43 UTC
• Middle East Eye, 2026-10-17 11:06 UTC
• TradeWinds News, 2026-10-17 11:35 UTC

First reported 2026-10-17 06:27 UTC; last updated 2026-10-18 20:14 UTC.

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