From the HERE City National Desk
MUSCAT, Oman — Omani forces pulled 25 crew members off a crude oil tanker that was hit and set on fire near the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, one of several ship incidents reported in the narrow waterway in a single day.
The Omani Maritime Security Centre said the vessel, the Panama-flagged RITI, had been targeted, and that its sailors were evacuated. Officials gave no word on injuries or on who carried out the strike. The tanker, which ship records list at about 166,700 deadweight tons and managed out of Hong Kong, was heading out of the Gulf near Oman when it was struck.
A second outbound tanker, the Panama-flagged Louise 1, reported that a small boat came alongside and fixed two limpet mines to its hull above the waterline about 25 nautical miles northeast of Oman. The blast started a fire that the crew put out, and the damaged ship kept sailing under its own power. Analysts said it was the first confirmed limpet mine attack in the region since 2019.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Friday that four oil tankers using what it called unauthorized routes had been stopped, with two of them catching fire after hitting mines. It was not clear whether either the RITI or the Louise 1 was among the ships Iran described.
U.S. Central Command disputed the mine claims and said the main shipping lanes through the strait have been swept clear of Iranian mines. Tehran has asserted authority over most of the strait since the United States and Israel went to war with Iran in late February.
British naval monitors put ship traffic through the strait at roughly 70% below prewar levels. Brent crude rose as high as $118 a barrel Friday before settling near $117.70.
Section: More Washington DC crime news
Filed under: Washington DC Public Safety News
