A tanker north of Qatar was struck by two unidentified projectiles, the UK maritime monitor UKMTO said on Thursday. Iranian state television separately reported that vessels caught fire after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a claim the Associated Press could not independently verify.
A tanker in the Persian Gulf north of Qatar was struck by two unidentified projectiles, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) on Thursday.
The monitor said the crew status, damage assessment and environmental impact remain unconfirmed. It advised vessels in the region to "transit with caution." It could not provide details about the tanker or its flag, and it was not immediately clear who was responsible.
Iran reports mine strikes in Hormuz
Elsewhere, Iranian state television said that two oil tankers and a towboat caught fire after striking mines in the Strait of Hormuz. State television gave no details about the vessels' flags, and the Associated Press reported that the claim could not be independently verified.
Citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the same report said two U.S. drones were seized after flying in airspace above Hormuz.
Shipping through the strait
Roughly a fifth of the world's commercial shipping traffic passed through the strait before the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began in late February. Tehran moved to effectively close the waterway shortly after the conflict broke out, constraining key oil flows out of the Middle East and contributing to a global spike in energy prices. However, some shipping data suggests vessel traffic out of the strait may be recovering, in part thanks to security provided by the U.S. military.
The UKMTO has previously flagged difficulties in tracking the true number of attacks because many ships are now refusing to report them. Meanwhile, foreign ministers from Iran and Oman were said to be discussing ways to reopen navigation through Hormuz, according to a statement from Oman's Foreign Ministry cited by the AP.
Source: Investing.com
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