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

What the report says

Two sailors are missing and 23 others have been rescued after an oil tanker was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Omani authorities cited by BBC World News. Oman’s Maritime Security Centre said the Panama-flagged El Gaia was being towed toward an Omani port after a fire broke out in its engine room. It said the vessel was targeted about 1.3 nautical miles north of the Musandam peninsula.

The report comes amid disputed accounts of what happened to the tanker. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the ship caught fire after striking mines in what they described as a restricted area, while the US military rejected that version and said the tanker had been hit by an Iranian missile and then by a drone. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre separately reported a fire on a vessel that had been struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the strait.

The incident adds to tension around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for global energy supplies. BBC World News noted that recent attacks on commercial shipping in the area have raised concerns for seafarers and disrupted maritime traffic. The broadcaster also pointed to earlier incidents in the same waterway that left crew members dead, underscoring the wider security risks facing ships using the route.