Tanker hit by unknown projectile in Strait of Hormuz, UKMTO says

A tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz was struck by an unknown projectile, damaging its engine room, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Sunday.

The vessel’s captain confirmed the strike, which hit the ship’s engine department, UKMTO said. The crew were reported safe and no environmental impact or oil spill was recorded. The agency did not specify when the incident occurred, the vessel’s origin or destination, or whether it was an oil tanker or a liquefied natural gas carrier.

The report capped a weekend of incidents around the chokepoint. On Saturday, UKMTO said a crude oil tanker was hit by an unknown projectile about four nautical miles east of Oman, and on Sunday the agency logged a separate incident about 60 nautical miles south of Yemen’s Mocha, where a tanker’s crew reported multiple explosions nearby.

Iran has sought to control the waterway since the start of its war with the United States and Israel, targeting vessels it accuses of transiting without its authorisation, while the United States has struck ships it accuses of skirting a counterblockade of Iranian ports. About a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passed through the strait before the war.

The strike comes as Iran weighs a diplomatic way forward. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran is evaluating terms delivered through intermediaries in response to a proposal by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi aimed at easing regional tensions, according to Al Jazeera reporting cited by Asianet News.