Five oil tankers and a tug caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, according to separate statements by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and army, as reported by local media on Thursday.
Since the start of the war in Iran in late February, Tehran has significantly restricted vessel traffic through the strategically important waterway, which under normal circumstances carries around one-fifth of global oil consumption.
Iran regularly attacks vessels it accuses of passing through the Strait without its approval. In response, the US military has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and assisted oil tankers as they transit the Strait.
The Revolutionary Guards told the Fars news agency that the previous night a large oil tanker attempting to pass through the “illegal sea route” south of the Strait struck a mine, caught fire and was immobilised.
Sea mines
According to the same statement, another supertanker was immobilised by a major fire as it was leaving the eastern part of the Strait. A tug that had approached the vessel to extinguish the fire also caught fire.
Later, Iran’s army said that three more oil tankers had been hit by sea mines. According to the official IRNA news agency, the army said that early in the morning an oil tanker that had “violated the rules” and was sailing in an unsafe area east of the Strait struck a mine, caught fire and was immobilised.
In a separate statement carried by IRNA, the army said that around midday two more oil tankers struck mines and caught fire in unsafe waters east of the Strait of Hormuz.
The incidents had not been confirmed by the relevant maritime authorities at the time of reporting. The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said an oil tanker had been hit by “two unknown projectiles” about 50 nautical miles from Qatar’s northern coast, without providing details of any damage or injuries. The area is around 500 kilometres west of the Strait of Hormuz, in the centre of the Gulf.
Fars also reported that the Revolutionary Guards’ navy electronic warfare unit had taken control of two US-developed LUCAS unmanned aerial vehicles. The name is an abbreviation of “Low-cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System”.
Source: CNA
