Two sailors are missing following an attack on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, and 23 others have been rescued. The Maritime Security Center of Oman reported that the Panama-flagged tanker Al Gaya was towed to a port in Oman on Tuesday after a fire broke out in the engine room. This incident occurred 1.3 nautical miles (2.4 kilometers) north of the Musandam Peninsula.
Details of the Incident and Reactions
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed on Monday that the tanker hit mines while passing through a narrow and unsafe route and caught fire. Meanwhile, the United States Navy deemed this report inaccurate, stating that the tanker was attacked by an Iranian missile last month and was again targeted over the weekend by a drone.
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The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center has also received a report of a fire on a vessel that struck an unknown project while passing through the Strait of Hormuz. These incidents raise concerns about the security of the Strait of Hormuz, which is one of the key routes for global oil and gas transportation.
Impacts on Maritime Security and Global Trade
The Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly one-fifth of the world's oil and gas trade passes, has effectively been closed due to Iranian missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels, as well as the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. This incident comes as Iran has emphasized that it does not intend to relinquish its control over this waterway and targets vessels that pass through the southern route of Omani waters, avoiding their preferred routes in Iranian waters.
Earlier this month, Iran made a similar claim regarding an incident that resulted in the deaths of two Filipino sailors on a Saudi supertanker in this vital waterway. The Revolutionary Guard stated that the vessel “Sidr” caught fire after hitting a sea mine, but Saudi officials claimed that the ship was targeted by Iran, and maritime security companies reported that it was damaged due to impacts from unknown projects north of Musandam.
The International Maritime Organization has stated that since the beginning of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran at the end of February, at least 22 sailors have been killed in 79 confirmed incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and other areas of the Middle East. This statistic reflects the deteriorating maritime security situation in this vital region.
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