Oil Tankers Catch Fire After Hitting Mines In Hormuz — Iran’s Guards

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Saturday said two oil tankers were on fire in the Strait of Hormuz after hitting mines in the waterway at the heart of the Middle East war.

Tehran seized control over Hormuz after the start of the war in late February, choking off the strait that normally carries about one-fifth of global oil consumption.

“A supertanker in violation of regulations, carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil and attempting to pass illegally through the Strait of Hormuz, struck a mine, triggering an explosion and a fierce fire,” the Revolutionary Guards said.

The statement did not specify the exact location of the incident.

Later Saturday, Guards said “a second offending supertanker was engulfed in a massive blaze after hitting a naval mine,” adding it also carried “more than two million barrels of crude oil” and was attempting to pass the Strait.

The origins of the load and the tanker’s flag were not immediately disclosed.

Flanked by Iran to the north and Oman to the south, the Hormuz strait is about 30 kilometres (20 miles) wide at its narrowest point.

Since taking control of the strait, Iran has demanded that all ships seek its authorisation before transiting.

“The tanker attempted to cross the strait with US support… by deactivating all its tracking systems,” the Guards added, also posting a video of a vessel in flames during the night.

On Thursday and Friday, Iran’s army said two tankers had caught fire in what Tehran calls its “prohibited zone” in the Gulf of Oman, which extends into the Arabian Sea.

Also on Friday, maritime monitoring agencies reported that two tankers had been struck in Gulf waters of Saudi Arabia’s coast.

On Sunday, six vessels were attacked in or near the Strait of Hormuz, the highest number of attacks in a single day since the start of the conflict — according to data from security firm Vanguard, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the British maritime agency UKMTO.

In response to Tehran’s blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, Washington has imposed its own naval counter-blockade on Iranian oil exports.

This week, the Guards’ naval commander Admiral Ali Ozmaei warned that any vessel that deactivated its navigation systems would be considered “hostile”.

AFP

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