Two Sailors Missing After Tanker Attacked in Strait of Hormuz

Two crew members remain missing and 23 others have been rescued following an attack on an oil tanker in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, according to Omani authorities. The Panama-flagged vessel, El Gaia, was being towed toward an Omani port on Tuesday after a fire erupted in its engine room.

The Oman Maritime Security Centre reported that the vessel was targeted approximately 1.3 nautical miles north of the Musandam peninsula. This incident marks another escalation in the ongoing disruption of maritime traffic in the region, where a fifth of global oil and gas shipments typically pass.

Clashes over responsibility for the attack began almost immediately. On Monday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed the tanker had struck naval mines while navigating what they described as a restricted and unsafe route. However, the US military dismissed these allegations as false. Washington stated that the El Gaia was previously struck by an Iranian missile last month and had been hit again by a drone over the weekend.

Supporting the Western account, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said it received reports early Sunday of a fire on board a vessel hit by an unknown projectile while transiting the strait.

This event mirrors an incident earlier this month involving the Saudi-owned supertanker Sidr, which resulted in the deaths of two Filipino sailors. While Iran’s Revolutionary Guards attributed that fire to a mine strike, Saudi authorities and maritime security firms reported that the ship was hit by projectiles north of Musandam.

The International Maritime Organization noted that at least 22 seafarers have been killed in 79 confirmed incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding Middle Eastern waters since the outbreak of war between the US and Israel against Iran in late February.

Tensions further intensified on Tuesday when Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported that “enemy drones” attacked two fishing boats near the Iranian port of Kargan, roughly 80km north-east of Musandam. Citing the deputy governor of Hormozgan province, the report indicated several fishermen were missing and a search-and-rescue operation was underway.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for US Central Command (Centcom), Capt Tim Hawkins, told Axios that US forces had destroyed two boats attempting to steal a sea drone. “Iranian small boats recently attempted to take possession of a US unmanned surface vessel, but they were unsuccessful after Centcom forcefully responded,” Hawkins said.

The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed due to Iranian missile and drone attacks on commercial shipping combined with a US naval blockade of Iranian ports. Although the US and Iran reached a preliminary agreement to end the conflict and reopen the waterway in June, the deal collapsed within weeks after Iranian attacks on shipping resumed and the US reinstated its blockade.

Iran maintains that it will not relinquish control over the waterway and continues to target vessels utilizing a southern route through Omani waters, which avoids Iran’s preferred northern passage.