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Wednesday, October 28, 2026

October has brought more attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz than any month since tracking began, with Reuters counting at least twenty-eight.

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Ship attacks in Strait of Hormuz hit record high in October reut.rs/4z5EjDb

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-- Reuters (@reuters.com) 11:35 AM · Oct 23, 2026

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It's an active war zone.
For the war Trump and Netanyahu started eight months ago.
War zone go boom-boom.
What a sooprise.

#1 | Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 2026-10-27 01:59 PM | Reply

Trump said a few weeks ago that he's waiting until after the Midterms to attack Iran... so, nothing political, of course.

"President Donald Trump is reportedly considering major new strikes against Iran after the 3 November midterm elections.

US forces could begin operations within 96 hours of receiving his order, two American officials told CNN on 26 October. The Pentagon has prepared potential targets across Iran, although Trump has not authorised another offensive."

www.ibtimes.co.uk

#2 | Posted by Corky at 2026-10-27 02:52 PM | Reply

Funny how the corporate media is not mentioning this at all.

#3 | Posted by Nixon at 2026-10-28 08:55 AM | Reply

Iran Is Attacking Ships in the Strait at Record Levels

This is what I voted for.
--Boaz

#4 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-10-28 10:15 AM | Reply

I told you this would become the new normal.

#5 | Posted by truthhurts at 2026-10-28 05:16 PM | Reply

Iran War Pushes Trump's Average Gasoline Prices Above Biden's
oilprice.com

Oil Prices Rise Despite Middle East Export Recovery
oilprice.com

#6 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-10-28 06:12 PM | Reply

@#3 ... Funny how the corporate media is not mentioning this at all. ...

The cited article is from Reuters.

What might you consider to be corporate media?


#7 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-10-28 06:13 PM | Reply

@#7 should be ...

Oops...

The cited sub-summary article is from Reuters.

#8 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-10-28 06:14 PM | Reply

Just follow the map.

#9 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-10-28 06:26 PM | Reply

@#9

A sidebar comment on that cited map ...

... 3 hours ago
Following Iranian media claims that commercial vessels struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM says primary transit routes remain mine-free and open ...

"mine-free and open?"

Then why is Brent crude still over $110?

There seems to be some bad information coming from somewhere. My first guess would be the originator might be Sec Def Hegseth's military leaders.

Stated differently, when Brent crude returns to its pre-February 226 price, I will say that the Straait of Hormuz is fully open.

Until then, well, I'd proffer that Pres Trump has a world-economy problem to solve, a problem that he caused.




#10 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-10-28 06:57 PM | Reply

"Then why is Brent crude still over $110?"

Well, there's this headline:
19 hours ago
The US has told Gulf Arab allies to prepare for a renewed military campaign against Iran after the midterm elections - WSJ

#11 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-10-28 06:59 PM | Reply

Then why is Brent crude still over $110?

#10 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-10-28 06:57 PM | Reply | Flag:

Checked the insurance rates? Checked the extra transit times without the Suez?

#12 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-10-28 07:04 PM | Reply

"Then why is Brent crude still over $110?"

It's interesting they blame Biden, but they are not really talking about the Deep State any longer.
Or George Soros, now that Elon Musk has outspent George's lifetime spending, in just this one midterm.

#13 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-10-28 07:07 PM | Reply

@#11

I do not disagree.

Especially since Sec Def Hegseth's unannounced visit with PM Netanyahu last week, probably to act as a courier to pass orders on to Pres Trump.

#14 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-10-28 07:07 PM | Reply

Checked for those ships that moved Iranian oil currently blockaded by the US Navy not going anywhere? Do those effect the global price?

#15 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-10-28 07:08 PM | Reply

@#15 ... Do those effect the global price? ...

So what does effect the global price of oil?

OK, first and foremost --- supply vs demand.

Then, secondarily, the cost of that supply.

Strait of Hormuz Insurance Rates Explained: What War-Risk Cover Costs in 2026
thebostonreport.com

... Insuring a tanker for a single trip through the Strait of Hormuz now costs about 6% to 10% of the ship's hull value in war-risk premiums, insurance brokers told the Financial Times in early October 2026. Before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on Feb. 28, the same cover typically cost 0.15% to 0.25%. For a $100 million tanker, that is the difference between about $250,000 and $6 million to $10 million for one voyage. The Financial Times reported that this can mean up to $20 million in war insurance for one supertanker voyage into the Gulf. ...

So, the tankers that do get through have to pay a much larger insurance cost.


Also ...

Strait of Hormuz shipping costs surge as tanker crews command danger pay (July 2026)
tradersunion.com

... As first reported by the Financial Times, tanker owners are offering sharply higher wages and voyage bonuses to persuade seafarers to keep sailing through the Strait of Hormuz as Iranian attacks intensify. People close to tanker owners and crews say ordinary sailors are receiving at least four to six times their normal pay during each transit, while crews already get double pay in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Oman.

Because many of the voyages are made by dedicated tankers on regular shuttle runs, some crews are able to earn the elevated rates for months at a time. A captain, or master, typically earns about $15,000 a month under normal conditions, while regular sailors can start at about $1,500 a month, highlighting how sharply compensation has increased.

Freight markets are reflecting the same risk premium. Rates for cargoes moving through the waterway have reached a record $1.3 million a day this week, up from roughly $20,000 to $50,000 a day last year, with only a limited number of ships willing to make the trip and transfer cargoes to other tankers waiting off Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman. ...


That was back in July ...


#16 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-10-28 07:19 PM | Reply

Stated differently, when Brent crude returns to its pre-February 226 price, I will say that the Straait of Hormuz is fully open.

So.. On the 1st of Never then?

It's looking more and more like this is the new normal.

Some things cannot be undone.

Trumpy has two years to figure out how to unravel the mess he has made. At best.

The odds are NOT in his favor.

#17 | Posted by donnerboy at 2026-10-28 07:19 PM | Reply

@#16

What is Pres Trump going to do to solve the high cost of oil that he caused?

Continue to give Pres Putin more money?


#18 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-10-28 07:21 PM | Reply

#16 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-10-28 07:19 PM | Reply

Those were all rhetorical. I have non-oil cargo that formerly went through there. It was relatively cheap and convenient. UAE, Suez, Atlantic, US ports. Now it goes the other direction through India and takes 3 months longer.

#19 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-10-28 08:03 PM | Reply

@#19 ... Those were all rhetorical. ...

Why?

... I have non-oil cargo that formerly went through there. ...

So, a diversion of shipping routes?

#20 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-10-28 08:18 PM | Reply

To be clear what is happening is that the gulf states are transiting back and forth and then transferring the crude oil into commercial ships out of the strait, ie. the usual commercial ships are not going into the strait (at least not at pre war numbers)

This greatly reduces actual flow of oil. I've heard that this shuttling reduces the amount of processed crude i.e. gasoline is transferred, but I can't confirm it

Fertilizer transit remains stopped and well that will have near term catastrophic effects

#21 | Posted by truthhurts at 2026-10-28 08:39 PM | Reply

@#21 ... Fertilizer transit ...

Good point.

The talk of the Strait of Hormuz tends to focus upon crude oil.

But there are other needed products that also have traversed that strait.

Found this ...

unctad.org
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints, carrying around a quarter of global seaborne oil trade and significant volumes of liquefied natural gas and fertilizers.

... The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints, carrying around a quarter of global seaborne oil trade and significant volumes of liquefied natural gas and fertilizers. ...


#22 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-10-28 08:51 PM | Reply

Here is something to contemplate

Fertilizer innovation directly drives global population growth by dramatically increasing crop yields, allowing a limited amount of arable land to feed billions more people

Feeding Billions: According to data tracked by Our World in Data, synthetic nitrogen fertilizers currently sustain roughly 50% of the human population.

Quick lesson is synthetic nitrogen fertilizers are absolutely critical to sustaining the global population.

Approximately 30% to 35% of globally traded synthetic nitrogen fertilizer (such as urea and ammonia) and raw inputs like natural gas and sulfur originate from countries inside the Persian Gulf and must pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

So, around 1/3 of the globally traded synthetic nitrogen fertilizer has been taken off the global market. For nine months and counting

Major export-oriented production facilities sit along the Persian Gulf coast in countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran (with Iran supplying roughly 10% of global urea)

10% of the globes urea (a critical component of SNF) is currently being blockaded by Piggy.

Urea prices are up 10% since the war started, DAP (phosphate fertilizer material) is up 25%

So, ummm yeah

#23 | Posted by truthhurts at 2026-10-28 09:31 PM | Reply

@#23 ... Here is something to contemplate ...

Maybe something else to contemplate besides the slowing of fertilizer transits through the Strait of Hormuz ...

9-23-30 & Potash Fertilizer Prices: What Farmers Pay Now (September 2026)
farmonaut.com

... Potash (0-0-60 muriate of potash, or MOP) is running $500-$535 per ton at Corn Belt retail as of August-September 2026, and 9-23-30 blends move with it because potash supplies the "30" -- the potassium component -- in that mix.

A 25% U.S. tariff on Canadian potash imports, in effect since March 4, 2025, is the direct cause: Canada supplies roughly 80% of U.S. potash, and CRU Group's pre-tariff modeling forecast a $65-per-metric-ton Midwest price increase once the tariff took hold. ...


#24 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-10-28 09:57 PM | Reply

For decades Americans who know nothing about the Middle East or Iranian politics and military have been whining that we have to do something about Iran. And for decades well informed and well educated leaders have warned us against the serious consequences that would likely make that a very bad idea.

Well, finally, in Trump and Hegseth, we have a low intelligence President and Secretary of Defense who have decided to do something about Iran (-mainly for the benefit of Israel). And the consequences have been really disastrous. Really, really bad for everyone who is not an uber millionaire.

Who could have guessed?

#25 | Posted by moder8 at 2026-10-29 05:30 PM | Reply


And Bibi's phonus-bolonus Iranian MANPADS threat against the Orange Doofus in powerful Turkiye after the NATO Summit in Ankara tricked the so-called "leader of the free world" to abscond away like a poltroon in a hot dog cart or catering truck, while leaving his staff vulnerable to the phantom non-existent threat which the Trumpf junta took seriously because they purged the USIC of experienced analysts and investigators.

Turkiye's experienced and formidable security services have yet to find one molecule of evidence of an Iranian plot against the White House Windbag -- especially after their Emniyet established an airtight cordon sanitaire around the NATO summit to protect all the world leaders.

Experienced Middle East analysts know that Iran wouldn't dishonor their neighbor and trading partner Turkiye with such an idiotic attempt on Turkish soil or in their airspace.

In The Police's final and Grammy-winning album Synchronicity (released 17 June 1983), they sang "you'll be, wrapped around my finger...."

This refrain applies aptly to blunderer Dummkopf Trumpf.

The anti-AIPAC blue wave is just right around the corner -- watch the results on Tuesday 3 Nov 2026.

"FUNNY"

#26 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS at 2026-10-29 05:55 PM | Reply

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