Two sailors missing after tanker attacked in Strait of Hormuz, Oman says
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Two sailors are missing and 23 others have been rescued following an attack on an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, Oman says.
Oman's Maritime Security Centre said a fire broke out in El Gaia's engine room following an attack. On Monday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed the tanker hit naval mines and caught fire while passing through a restricted route. However, the US military disputed this, stating the Iranian report was false. They insisted the tanker was struck by a missile last month and again by a drone over the weekend.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre reported a similar incident on Sunday, where a vessel caught fire after being hit by an unknown projectile in the strait.
Earlier this month, Iran made a similar claim about an incident involving a Saudi-owned oil supertanker that killed two Filipino sailors. The Revolutionary Guards alleged the ship hit a naval mine, but Saudi authorities blamed Iran for the attack.
The International Maritime Organization reports at least 22 seafarers have been killed in 79 confirmed incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding areas since the US-Israel war with Iran began in late February.
The Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route accounting for around a fifth of global oil and gas shipments, has been effectively closed due to Iranian missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels and a US naval blockade of Iranian ports. A preliminary agreement in June aimed to end the conflict and reopen the strait, but it quickly collapsed as Iran resumed attacks and the US reinstated its blockade.
Iran maintains they will not relinquish control over the waterway and has targeted ships using an alternative southern route through Omani waters.