Two oil tankers were attacked in waters near Saudi Arabia.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) issued two consecutive notices on the 17th, stating that two oil tankers were attacked in waters near Jubail, Saudi Arabia, on that day. One was hit by an "unknown projectile," and the other was attacked by a rocket. The crews of both tankers were confirmed safe. According to the notices, the first incident occurred at 09:00 UTC on the 16th, at a location approximately 68 nautical miles northeast of Jubail. An oil tanker was hit by an unknown projectile, and all crew members on board had safely evacuated. No environmental pollution impact had been reported at the time of the incident. The second incident occurred at 19:22 UTC on the 16th, at a location approximately 78 nautical miles northeast of Jubail. The master of the tanker that was attacked reported that the vessel was attacked by a rocket fired from a small boat, and the port quarter of the ship was damaged. All crew members on board were confirmed safe. The notices said that the extent of damage to the vessel still needed to be fully assessed, and the environmental impact was not yet clear. UKMTO reminded passing vessels to navigate with caution and to report suspicious activity promptly. The weekly situation review issued by UKMTO on the 16th showed that in the week ending that day, the agency had received a total of 12 reports of vessels being attacked, of which 10 occurred in the Strait of Hormuz, and the other two occurred in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, respectively. The agency also said that it was currently difficult to accurately count the actual number of vessel attacks, because most attacked vessels refused to report to the agency.