Iran Says Oil Super Tanker Carrying 2 Million Barrels Sinks in Strait of Hormuz
The Guards said two oil tankers had struck mines while travelling through what Tehran described as an unauthorized route in the southern part of the strategic waterway.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that a supertanker carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil had sunk after striking a naval mine and catching fire in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Guards said two oil tankers had struck mines while travelling through what Tehran described as an unauthorized route in the southern part of the strategic waterway. However, there has been no independent confirmation of the reported incidents.
"Over the past few hours, two oil tankers travelling along an unauthorized route in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz struck naval mines, resulting in massive explosions and fire," the IRGC said in a statement carried by Iranian state television.
"One of these vessels – a super tanker carrying over two million barrels of crude oil – sank in the southern waters of the Persian Gulf," the statement added.
The Guards did not disclose the names or countries of origin of the vessels.
Since the outbreak of the Middle East war in late February, Tehran has significantly restricted maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, requiring vessels to use routes authorized by the Islamic Republic. Iranian forces have also repeatedly targeted ships accused of transiting the waterway without permission.
In response, the United States has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and supported commercial shipping through the strait, a critical international trade corridor through which approximately one-fifth of the world's oil supplies normally pass.
The US military recently said it had cleared all mines from the main shipping routes through the waterway.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said on Sunday it was aware of a report from Indian shipping authorities concerning an attack on a tanker in the Gulf.
UKMTO said the extent of the damage and any environmental impact remained unknown, but confirmed that the vessel's crew were safe. It was not immediately clear whether the reported attack was connected to the incidents announced by Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Tehran has made several similar announcements in recent weeks, reporting fires aboard vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and frequently attributing them to naval mines.