Oman rescued 25 sailors from the Panama-flagged merchant ship RITI on Oct 30 after an attack set the vessel ablaze. The rescue came as Iran said three oil tankers had been halted in the Strait of Hormuz, part of a series of Strait of Hormuz tanker attacks.
Oman’s navy evacuated the 25 crew after the ship was targeted and a fire broke out on board, according to Oman’s Maritime Security Centre, as reported by The Hindu. Oman has not given details of what caused the attack or who was responsible.
UKMTO said a ship 40 nautical miles south of Lavan Island was struck on Oct 30 by an unknown projectile that caused a fire onboard. Its crew was reported safe, according to The Hindu. The ship is not named in the sources, and it is not confirmed whether it is one of the three tankers Iran described.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said three oil tankers were halted after encountering unspecified incidents or hitting mines, according to The Hindu. The Guards also said a supertanker carrying two million barrels stopped after striking a naval mine. They did not specify the nature of the incidents involving the three tankers.
The Guards said the tankers had hit naval mines while using an unauthorised route and had switched off their navigation systems, with US military support. The sources do not include a US response to that claim. The Guards’ claims about mines, the three halted tankers and the supertanker have not been independently confirmed.
US Central Command chief Brad Cooper said US forces had successfully cleared the strait’s primary transit routes of Iranian sea mines, according to The Hindu.
Separately, DW reported that an oil tanker carrying 27 Indian seafarers, the Panama-flagged Louise 1, was targeted with limpet mines about 25 nautical miles northeast of Oman’s Khasab on Thursday. The attack caused a fire, which was extinguished. DW said the identity of those responsible was not immediately known.
Indian Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said all Indian seafarers aboard the Louise 1 were safe and had sustained no injuries, according to DW. DW’s report is a daily India news roundup that covers the attack briefly, so the details of that incident rest largely on that single short account.
Tehran has restricted maritime traffic through the strait since the West Asia war began on Feb 28, when US-Israeli strikes on Iran began. The strait normally carries about a fifth of global oil.
Iran requires vessels to use a designated route and to coordinate passage with its armed forces. It has labelled a southern corridor near Oman’s shores as unauthorised. The United States has responded with a counterblockade of Iranian ports.
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy reportedly said attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz are at their highest level since the Iran war began.
The sources report no next steps. Iran’s restrictions on strait traffic and the US counterblockade of Iranian ports remain in place as described. Key details of the Oct 30 incidents rest on official statements from Oman, UKMTO and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and on reporting by The Hindu, with no independent confirmation of the Guards’ account.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.