Oil tanker attacked off Oman
An oil tanker has been hit by an “unknown projectile” off the coast of Oman, according to the British Navy’s maritime surveillance agency UKMTO.
It is the second attack on a ship in the region in less than a day.
The crew is said to be safe but the tanker’s engine room is said to be damaged. Any impact on the environment is still unclear.
Reports of the incident came shortly after midnight on Tuesday night, Swedish time. Just hours earlier, a separate attack on another tanker occurred, this time in the Red Sea west of Saudi Arabia.
The latest attack comes close to the visit of Oman’s foreign minister to Iran on Tuesday, where he is traveling to discuss the disputed Strait of Hormuz.
Maritime traffic in both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf has been affected by the Iran war, including when Tehran attacked what it describes as pro-US targets in the region. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil trade and the passage connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, has been the subject of alleged blockades in rounds by both the US and Iran.
A total of 68 incidents involving commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz have been recorded during the six months of the conflict, according to the UN migration agency IOM. In connection with the incidents, at least 20 sailors and dock workers have been killed and 35 injured. Another person is missing. Of all the incidents, the UKMTO labels 47 as attacks.
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