UAE says Iranian missiles struck oil tankers in Strait of Hormuz, one sailor killed

One Indian crew member was killed and eight others were wounded when two Emirati oil tankers were struck by Iranian cruise missiles in the Strait of Hormuz, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence said on July 14, in the latest escalation in the strategic waterway.

The ministry said the tankers, the Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, were targeted in the southern lane of the strait while in Omani territorial waters. The dead crew member was aboard the Mombasa, it said.

Of the eight wounded, four were seriously injured. Six of the wounded were Indian nationals and two were Ukrainian nationals, the ministry said.

The attack caused material damage to both tankers after fires broke out on board. The ministry said the fires had been brought under control.

It condemned what it called a “blatant attack” and said the UAE retained “its full right to respond to this escalation”.

The ministry added that the UAE remained fully prepared to deal with any threats and was taking all necessary measures to respond firmly to any attempts to undermine the country’s security and stability.

Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said on July 14 that a tanker had been hit by an unknown projectile while travelling 40 nautical miles north-east of Oman’s Qalhat.

UKMTO said the tanker’s master reported that the projectile struck the starboard-side engine room and that all crew were safe.

Reuters could not immediately verify whether the UKMTO report referred to the same incident as the one reported by the UAE’s Ministry of Defence. Iran has not commented on the latest attacks.

The latest incidents in the waterway come after weeks of heightened tensions since the war broke out on Feb 28, when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran.

On July 13, President Donald Trump said the US was reinstating its blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf and would ensure the Strait of Hormuz stays open – for a fee – while warning that US forces would hit Iran again “very hard” in the coming hours after the two sides exchanged missile and drone attacks.

Iran’s top joint military command said the US had no role in determining the future of the waterway and would not be allowed to intervene.

The conflict has destabilised the Gulf and spread across the region, with Iran attacking US bases in multiple countries. It has also thrown into question an interim US-Iranian agreement signed in June to reopen the strait and halt hostilities.

Before the conflict began in February, around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas traffic passed through Hormuz daily, delivering more than 15 million barrels of fuel to global markets worth at least US$1.2 billion. REUTERS