OMM Newsroom
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said Friday that a fourth oil tanker had struck a mine and caught fire while attempting to pass through an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Anadolu Agency.
The navy’s public relations office said the supertanker was carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude oil and had ignored repeated radio warnings not to use the southern passage through the strategic waterway.
The statement said the vessel was hit by a mine, causing a powerful explosion and a fire. The IRGC said the tanker was trying to leave the strait via what it described as an unauthorized southern route.
The IRGC said the incident was the fourth time a tanker had caught fire in the strait since early Friday.
Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that a vessel was hit by an unidentified projectile at 1800GMT, 40 nautical miles south of Iran’s Lavan Island.
The projectile struck the vessel’s port side and caused a fire on board, UKMTO said. The crew was safe, and no environmental impact had been reported.
It was not clear whether the incident reported by UKMTO was connected to the tanker cited by the IRGC.
In recent weeks, Iranian authorities have reported several incidents involving commercial vessels in and around the strait, including tankers allegedly damaged by naval mines.
The Strait of Hormuz connects the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and is one of the world’s most important maritime routes for oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Maritime tensions have persisted since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on Feb. 28, prompting Iranian retaliation across the region.
Despite subsequent diplomatic efforts and a memorandum signed by Washington and Tehran in June, disputes over maritime security and navigation arrangements in the strait have continued.
