Two sailors missing after tanker attacked in Strait of Hormuz, Oman says

What Happened

Oman's Maritime Security Centre reported that two sailors are missing and 23 others were rescued after an attack on the Panama-flagged oil tanker El Gaia in the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel was targeted 1.3 nautical miles (2.4 km) north of the Musandam peninsula and was being towed to an Omani port on Tuesday after a fire broke out in its engine room. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said it received a report of a fire on board a vessel struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz in the early hours of Sunday. Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed the tanker hit naval mines and caught fire while passing through what they described as a restricted and unsafe route. The US military rejected the Iranian account, saying the tanker was struck by an Iranian missile last month and again by a drone over the weekend.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and gas shipments usually pass, has effectively been closed due to Iranian missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels and a US naval blockade of Iranian ports. The International Maritime Organization says at least 22 seafarers have been killed in 79 confirmed incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Middle East since the start of the US and Israel's war with Iran at the end of February. Iran has insisted it will not give up some measure of control over the waterway and has targeted vessels using a southern route through Omani waters that avoids its preferred route through Iranian waters, while a preliminary US-Iran agreement to reopen the strait collapsed within weeks after Iranian attacks on shipping resumed and the US reinstated its blockade.

Watch For

In the coming days, monitor the towing and inspection of the El Gaia at an Omani port for confirmation of the cause of the fire and the fate of the two missing sailors. Watch for further reports from the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre on projectile strikes against vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and for any US military or Iranian Revolutionary Guards statements on new incidents. Also track whether the resumed attacks and blockade prompt renewed diplomatic efforts or further escalation around the southern Omani waters route.