Omani maritime authorities evacuated 25 crew members from the RITI, a Panamanian-flagged crude oil tanker, after a fire broke out aboard the vessel. The rescue operation was conducted by the Omani Maritime Security Centre on Friday in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping corridor that has experienced recurring incidents involving commercial vessels.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reported that three oil tankers were halted while attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz via what Tehran characterized as unauthorized routes. The IRGC stated that two of the vessels encountered incidents and were stopped in waters south of the strait, while a third tanker—identified as a supertanker carrying more than two million barrels of oil—caught fire and exploded after attempting to pass through the restricted passage. The authority attributed these incidents to either violations of transit procedures or contact with naval mines.
Tehran has maintained a policy of warning foreign vessels against transiting the waterway without authorization. Iran has previously claimed responsibility for attacks on ships and reiterated last month that unauthorized passage through the strait would result in consequences described as “destruction.” The Iranian government has asserted expanded control over portions of the Strait of Hormuz since the initiation of military operations on February 28.
The United States Central Command disputed Iran’s claims regarding naval mines in the region. Commander Brad Cooper stated that the internationally recognized primary transit routes through the Strait of Hormuz had been successfully cleared of Iranian sea mines, presenting a contrasting assessment of conditions in the strategically important shipping lane.
Separately, Iran’s navy reported destroying an unmanned aircraft on Friday in waters east of the Strait of Hormuz, adding to the pattern of military activity in the region.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI