At least 25 seafarers have been killed in maritime incidents across the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Middle East since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in February, the United Nations said on Friday.
The warning came as Iranian authorities reported that three more tankers had struck naval mines on Saturday.
At the UN Security Council on November 13, Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari cited 134 confirmed incidents recorded by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) through November 11.
October saw the highest monthly tally of shipping incidents since February, he said.
“This situation cannot be allowed to become the new normal,” Khiari said, urging safe maritime passage.
The IMO's public tracker, however, lists 136 incidents for the same cutoff, two more than the figure given to the council.
The available UN and IMO records do not explain the difference.
Among the listed incidents are a seafarer's death aboard the Velos Sapphire near Qatar on November 4 and an injury aboard the Fujairah Energy on November 10.
Iran's navy and Revolutionary Guards said two tankers caught fire after striking mines in southern Hormuz and another was hit east of the strait, AFP reported.
The authorities did not identify the ships, and the claims could not be independently verified.
Tehran says vessels must obtain permission to transit the strait, while the US military says it has cleared major shipping routes of mines.
Washington is also blockading Iranian ports, a measure Tehran wants lifted before fully reopening the waterway.
UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) counted 139 outbound and 169 inbound transits in its November 13 weekly report, about 65 percent below pre-war levels.
UKMTO cautioned that its totals included US-reported facilitated transits it could not independently verify.
UKMTO reported eight regional maritime incidents that week, with no vessels reported sunk.
Khiari warned of higher energy, transport and insurance costs, as well as risks to food security from disrupted fertiliser shipments.
He called for restoring safe navigation through diplomatic efforts.