Iran is deploying explosive-laden drone boats disguised as wooden fishing vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a defense expert has warned — a move that signals a new phase of hybrid maritime warfare in one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes.

Cameron Chell, CEO of drone technology firm Draganfly, spoke after the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) confirmed that a Marshall Islands–flagged oil tanker was struck March 1 by an Iranian unmanned surface vehicle north of Muscat, Oman.

“UKMTO has received confirmation that the vessel was attacked by an uncrewed surface vehicle (USV), and that the crew has been evacuated to shore,” UKMTO said in a threat assessment.

Reports also indicated that two additional oil tankers were hit March 11 by remote-controlled explosive boats in the Gulf, as Iran intensified attacks on foreign vessels following the start of the U.S. Operation Epic Fury against the regime on Feb. 28.

FIRES RAGE AT IRAN’S BANDAR ABBAS NAVAL HEADQUARTERS, STRAIT OF HORMUZ TRAFFIC STALLED

The use of so-called “suicide skiffs” represents a growing asymmetric threat in the narrow, 21-mile-wide Strait, Chell warned, while highlighting the technological capabilities behind these attacks.

“The Iranians probably have use of radio remote control, line of sight, frequency hopping, or encrypted radio communication between the skiffs and the Hormuz shoreline,” Chell told Fox News Digital.

“These can be jammed and tracked, but when there’s 50 of these boats, it’s hard to try to find them all along this shoreline or to find a 20-foot wooden fishing boat that is laden with explosives.

“They can have one person controlling a swarm of 10 boats,” he said before describing how there “could also be autonomous swarming where they might have 10 boats that can act with a large level of independence, because they’re pre-programmed.”

“The boats would be used to ram into targets and explode,” Chell clarified.

EX-NAVY SEAL WARNS WITHDRAWING FROM IRAN NOW WOULD HAND ‘VICTORY’ TO REGIME

Chell’s comments followed a March 12 Reuters report stating that six vessels had been attacked in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz. 

Sources said that Iran had also deployed about a dozen mines, complicating efforts to maintain any traffic through the critical waterway.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Sky News Thursday that the U.S. Navy, potentially alongside an international coalition, would escort ships when militarily feasible.

U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey also said discussions were underway with European counterparts stressing the global economic stakes tied to the strait. Chell, however, questioned current defensive readiness.

“The drone defense fleets that the U.S. Navy would not have been set up to take these suicide skiffs out,” Chell said.

“The U.S. would be using manned aircraft in order to take them out, which are fantastic at taking out a large target, but inefficient in taking out 50 boats at one time that are an average of 25 or 30 feet in size, laden with explosives.

IRAN’S DRONE SWARMS CHALLENGE US AIR DEFENSES AS TROOPS IN MIDDLE EAST FACE RISING THREATS

“Given the Strait’s geography, it would require patrolling by many aircraft and would require pervasive surveillance over the area, a rapid response to any activity that’s happening,” he said.

As Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to keep the Strait closed as leverage against the U.S. and Israel, oil prices continue to surge, with Chell also highlighting the geographic advantage Iran holds.

“The geographic layout of the Strait lends itself very well to relatively unsophisticated suicide skiffs, unmanned surface vehicles or USVs,” he warned before describing how the area “lends itself to this low-cost, automatic, asymmetric warfare.”

“The Iranians can disguise them as fishing boats and can be anywhere from 12 to 30 feet, and a boat could be of any description,” Chell said.

“These skiffs are equipped with basic remote control capabilities that may or may not be using GPS waypoints or manual remote control.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“The skiffs are not autonomous, because the distance across the Strait is so short, and it’s very flat across this waterway, the communication signal could be carried for quite some time via a line of sight,” he added.

“They could literally have hundreds out there at a time, because they’re also so inexpensive to defend against,” Chell said.

Published on 13/03/2026 – 21:51 GMT+1•Updated
22:21

German Chancellor Frederich Merz said on Friday that six out of seven G7 countries were against the US’ decision to give Russia a reprieve from oil sanctions. US President Donald Trump carried out the move in order to boost global supply amid soaring prices, which came as a consequence the US-Israeli war that was launched against Iran on 28 February.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The leaders of Germany, Canada and Norway – all NATO member states – said they would use their channels of communication with the White House to try and change Trump’s mind.

The trio reiterated the alliance’s stance that maximum pressure still needs to be applied on the Kremlin over its war in Ukraine and its wider threat to global security.

“Six out of seven were clearly of the opinion that we should not release the sanctions against Russia”, said Merz.

“We were a little bit surprised when we heard this morning that the American government decided differently,” he told reporters at a press conference in Norway.

The three leaders agreed that maximum pressure should continue to be applied on the Kremlin over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and urged that Russia should not benefit from a reintroduction to global oil markets.

The decision “should be not the case because Russia is benefitting from that”, insisted Merz.

“We should put more pressure on Russia to bring this terrible war to an end as soon as possible, and that’s the reason why we are having a different view on this decision which was taken in [Washington] DC last night”, he said.

Asked at the press conference if G7 countries or NATO would lobby Trump to revise his decision, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said “we all have direct lines to the president, and we’ll use them.”

Merz said he would speak to French President Macron to see if they can find a way around Trump’s plan: “We will have the opportunity to speak with each other over the weekend. And we will check what we can do.”

Arctic Sentry military exercise

The trio were on an official visit to witness NATO’s Arctic Sentry military exercise, which was agreed last January as part of the resolution to Trump’s claim he would “take” Greenland.

The alliance agreed to increase NATO’s presence in the region after Trump insisted it did not possess sufficient security architecture.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius also attended the military display, which consisted of several German Leopard Tanks and Norwegian Infantry Fighting Vehicles.

Pistorius told Euronews he is “much concerned” regarding the impact on the war in Ukraine if Russia regains access to oil revenue which could give it a significant advantage in sustaining its costly invasion.

“The only thing at the end to really force Putin at the negotiation table is to make clear that his revenues out of export of oil and gas will find an end,” he said.

“This is the opposite of that. It’s just a real disadvantage [for Ukraine],” he added.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin welcomed the move by the White House, saying US and Russian interests are aligned on the issue. “We see actions by the US as an attempt to stabilise energy markets. In this regard, our interests align,” said Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

“We heard statements of US representatives that this exception has been indeed made now for oil already loaded before 12 March”, Peskov said.

Video editor • Shona Murray