The Bermuda-flagged GASLOG SHANGHAI oil tanker was struck by a projectile northeast of Limah, Oman, on July 31, damaging its engine room, according to the Institute for the Study of War and the Critical Threats Project. The vessel had been attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz using routes not approved by Iran's maritime authority. [1]

The strike occurred 24 hours before President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran and claimed a deal framework was in place. Iran has denied any negotiations are underway. The GASLOG SHANGHAI hit is the latest in a pattern of enforcement actions that constitute a de facto blockade of the world's most critical energy chokepoint. [1]

The ISW reported that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy continues to enforce a shipping corridor through the strait, requiring all vessels to obtain permission before transiting. Ships using routes outside the approved corridor face attack. The IRGCN's strategy — using anti-ship missiles, naval mines, and fast-attack craft — has disrupted commercial shipping since the war's first week. Insurance rates for Gulf transits have spiked 300 percent, and major shipping lines have rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope, adding 10-14 days to voyage times. [1]

The Hormuz disruption is not a side effect of the conflict. It is the core economic weapon. Approximately 20 percent of the world's oil supply and 25 percent of global LNG trade transits through the strait. The attack on GASLOG SHANGHAI demonstrates that the blockade is operating regardless of any diplomatic framework. No deal has been signed. No ceasefire has been declared. And Iran continues to enforce its control over the waterway by attacking vessels that defy its authority.

The critical question is whether any deal framework addresses the strait. Trump's announcement mentioned no Hormuz provisions. Iran's denial of talks suggests it has no intention of relaxing enforcement. The physical energy chain — tanker routes, insurance, cargo scheduling, refinery throughput — remains disrupted, and the market's optimism is running ahead of the facts on the water.