The Kuwaiti VLCC AL FUNTAS (IMO 9653408), managed by Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, was struck by a suspected projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz north of Khasab, Oman on the evening of September 28 [1]. The vessel was running dark — AIS off — and did not directly report the attack to UKMTO or MSCIO; security services received the information late from a third party [1]. A fire resulted but was extinguished, the vessel remained underway toward a port of refuge, all crew were reported safe, and no environmental impact was reported [1][2]. The extent of damage is unquantified [1].

The tanker was not on Iran's published non-compliant list, though Iran has threatened Kuwait's tanker operations and listed several of its vessels [1]. DeepDraft assessed the incident as CRITICAL RED — active VLCC security exposure with war-risk and voyage-authorization pressure — noting that physical passage through Hormuz does not remove projectile, fire, crew-safety, or authorization risk [2].

This adds named-vessel detail to the September 28 projectile strike previously reported by UKMTO 143-26, and reveals dark-transit mode not in earlier coverage. The incident reinforces that insurance-based closure remains operative and independent oil passage counts stay unconfirmed. PortWatch observation date remains September 20 (stale) [1]. Kpler shows Hormuz crude at 13.19M bpd weekly (77% baseline) for week to Sep 27, Saudi 2.58M bpd (43% of strait) [1].