Tanker Ablaze in Hormuz After Projectile Strike, UKMTO Says
(MENAFN) A tanker caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday after an unidentified projectile hit its hull, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported.
The master of the outbound vessel told the UKMTO that the projectile hit the ship’s port side and set it ablaze. The crew is safe, but the extent of the damage and any environmental impact are not yet known. Authorities have opened an investigation and urged ships to proceed through the area with caution.
The incident follows a claim by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) late Saturday that an oil supertanker hit a naval mine and exploded as it tried to leave the strait by an unauthorized southern route. The IRGC said the ship, which can carry roughly 2 million barrels of oil, had shut off its navigation systems before attempting the crossing of the waterway, a vital artery for global energy and commodity supplies. The blast was visible from coastal areas, it added.
Iran announced on July 12 that it had closed the strait again after the US resumed attacks on July 8. Tehran has also warned that it will target ships that use routes other than those it has designated or that pass through without its permission.
The tensions trace back to Feb. 28, when the US and Israel launched a war against Iran that, according to Tehran, has killed more than 3,000 people. Iran retaliated with attacks that killed Americans and Israelis, and a ceasefire took hold in April. Even after a framework agreement was signed in June, the US carried out further strikes on Iranian sites as negotiations between Washington and Tehran stalled. Talks remain deadlocked over navigation through the strategic waterway.
The master of the outbound vessel told the UKMTO that the projectile hit the ship’s port side and set it ablaze. The crew is safe, but the extent of the damage and any environmental impact are not yet known. Authorities have opened an investigation and urged ships to proceed through the area with caution.
The incident follows a claim by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) late Saturday that an oil supertanker hit a naval mine and exploded as it tried to leave the strait by an unauthorized southern route. The IRGC said the ship, which can carry roughly 2 million barrels of oil, had shut off its navigation systems before attempting the crossing of the waterway, a vital artery for global energy and commodity supplies. The blast was visible from coastal areas, it added.
Iran announced on July 12 that it had closed the strait again after the US resumed attacks on July 8. Tehran has also warned that it will target ships that use routes other than those it has designated or that pass through without its permission.
The tensions trace back to Feb. 28, when the US and Israel launched a war against Iran that, according to Tehran, has killed more than 3,000 people. Iran retaliated with attacks that killed Americans and Israelis, and a ceasefire took hold in April. Even after a framework agreement was signed in June, the US carried out further strikes on Iranian sites as negotiations between Washington and Tehran stalled. Talks remain deadlocked over navigation through the strategic waterway.
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