UKMTO: Two explosive devices attached to tanker's hull from small boat in Strait of Hormuz
The blasts caused a fire in the tanker's engine room and temporarily disabled the vessel; the crew are safe.
The UK Royal Navy's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said explosive devices attached from a small boat to the hull of an oil tanker had detonated in the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement said: “A small boat approached the oil tanker and attached two explosive devices to its hull above the waterline. The subsequent explosions caused a fire in the engine room and left the vessel disabled.”
According to UKMTO, the incident took place on October 29 at around 22:12 UTC, 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman. The boat approached the tanker on its port side. UKMTO's initial report said an outbound tanker was on fire, while the cause, the crew's condition and the damage were unknown.
According to an update issued on October 30, all crew members are safe, the fire has been extinguished, no environmental impact has been recorded and the vessel is continuing to its next port of call. The tanker's name and the perpetrators of the attack have not been disclosed.
UKMTO advised vessels “to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO, whilst authorities investigate.”
The Public Relations Department of the Iranian Army Navy, for its part, said a tanker caught fire after striking a naval mine in a restricted area east of the strait. Iranian naval officials declared that the strait is “closed to violating ships” passing through prohibited areas without coordination.
On October 30, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also announced that three oil tankers passing along an unauthorized route had suffered explosions and fires during the day. According to the Corps, one of them was carrying more than 2 million barrels of oil and continued to burn at the entrance to the strait. Amid the incidents in the Strait of Hormuz, the price of oil approached $118 per barrel. The Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, is one of the world's most important oil shipping routes.
