Three oil tankers hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz, making gas cheaper

Fuel prices fell slightly over the past day, with AAA reporting that the average gallon of gasoline fell to $4.23, while diesel fell to $6.33. Crude oil is also down slightly, according to OilPrice, although Brent Crude is still above $114 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate remains above $100. The price drop follows reports that several Gulf countries are working on a peace deal that could, if possible, end the conflict. Which is great and all, except the Associated Press reports that three oil tankers hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Oops.

According to the AP, Iran says that in the past 24 hours, three oil tankers hit mines and caught fire while crossing the strait on an unauthorized route. The report does not name the ships or include information on how many people, if any, were killed or injured by the mines. So far, the AP says it has not been able to independently verify the report, which came from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. However, one reason it may be difficult to verify the claims may be that the tankers are not in contact:

The Iranian navy said the tankers turned off their radars and navigation systems and ignored warnings as they tried to exit via a restricted route. The damaged vessels were abandoned off the southern coast of the waterway.

The UK’s Maritime Trade Operations Center said on Thursday that a ship had spotted another ship on fire as it passed through the strait. He said he did not know the status of the crew on board the burning ship or how badly damaged it was. It was not immediately clear whether this vessel was one of three vessels referenced by the Revolutionary Guards.

The loss of the equivalent of three tankers is regrettable, but far from comparable to the probable loss of life on board. It certainly won’t help gas prices, but it won’t cause them to skyrocket either. The real problem is that tensions are already high heading into the midterm elections, fuel is already expensive and the risk of hitting mines means fewer ships will be willing to risk the journey. We could also see shipping rates increase even more to account for the risk, which could push gas prices even higher.

In addition to claiming its mines blew up three oil tankers, Iran also claims to have captured a US MQM-170 Outlaw drone. The United States, however, rejects Iran’s claims. From the AP:

Iranian state television reported Thursday that the Revolutionary Guards, as part of an “electronic warfare operation,” detected and identified the MQM-170 Outlaw drone and took control of its control systems before landing it on Iranian territory. It was not specified when the drone was allegedly seized.

The US Central Command declared this information to be false.

“Over the past few weeks and months, the IRGC has repeatedly lied out of desperation, and today is no different,” said Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for Central Command. He did not provide further details.

This would not be the first time that Iran has claimed to have captured valuable American military equipment. In 2011, the AP points out, Iran claimed to have shot down an RQ-170 Sentinel drone using an “electronic ambush.” At the time, the United States did not deny that Iran had captured the drone, but simply said it had simply malfunctioned rather than being struck by advanced electronic warfare.