According to a statement from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy on October 12, cited by Xinhua News Agency, Iran struck a large oil tanker earlier that day in the Strait of Hormuz for violating regulations. Bloomberg reported on the same day that as Iran's ship attacks escalate, an increasing number of empty supertankers originally scheduled to sail to the Persian Gulf region have begun to turn around or change course, posing a new test for the recovery of Gulf crude oil transportation. Based on ship tracking data, Bloomberg reported that in recent days, at least 10 Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and several Suezmax tankers have stopped or turned around en route to Fujairah Port in the UAE. Fujairah is located outside the Strait of Hormuz and is a crucial hub for offshore crude oil transshipment in the Persian Gulf. The withdrawal of empty tankers could weaken the transportation model that relies on offshore transfers to maintain crude oil exports and slow down the speed at which crude oil is transported from the Gulf region to international markets. Xinhua News Agency noted that this was the third large oil tanker struck in the past two days while attempting to leave the Strait of Hormuz for violating regulations. The IRGC Navy warned that any merchant vessel or oil tanker cooperating with U.S. forces in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf would face decisive action from its forces.