The IRGC struck the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Louise P with a kamikaze drone in the central Persian Gulf on Saturday — the first deliberate, publicly claimed attack on an identified civilian vessel in this conflict. The Guards named the ship, claimed the attack, and stated their rationale: the strike was made "on the grounds that it belongs to the US."
The distinction from earlier attacks matters. When the IRGC hit the Sonangol Namibe — an Angolan-operated tanker — earlier in the conflict, it falsely claimed the vessel was American. That fit a familiar pattern of deniable, misattributed strikes on commercial shipping. The Louise P is a departure: the IRGC identified its target, struck it, and published a stated basis. That basis — perceived national ownership — has no standing under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which prohibits attacks on civilian merchant vessels unless they are directly assisting military operations. The IRGC made no such claim about the Louise P.
The commercial environment was already collapsing before this strike. Every major P&I club withdrew war-risk insurance coverage at midnight on 5 March. More than 150 vessels sat at anchor in The Gulf of Oman, waiting for conditions that may not return for weeks even after a ceasefire — insurers require reassessment periods before reinstating coverage. Three of the world's largest container lines — Maersk, CMA CGM, and Hapag-Lloyd — had already suspended Gulf services. The Louise P adds a further dimension: the IRGC is now targeting ships anywhere in The Persian Gulf on the basis of perceived national affiliation, outside the strait of Hormuz Chokepoint. For tanker operators weighing whether open Gulf waters remained passable, the question has been answered.
