Omani officials announced on Tuesday that the Panama-flagged tanker El Gaia is currently being towed to port after a fire on the ship was brought under control, although two crew members are still missing.
The Maritime Security Center in Oman reported that the tanker was about 103 nautical miles northeast of the Musandam Governorate. A Royal Navy of Oman vessel successfully evacuated 23 crew members and provided medical assistance. Search efforts are ongoing for the two missing crew members.
There are conflicting reports regarding the incident involving the tanker. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that the El Gaia hit a naval mine while navigating through the Strait of Hormuz.
However, the U.S. Central Command refuted that statement, asserting that the tanker had actually been attacked by Iran twice — first by a missile last month, which rendered the ship inoperable, and then by a drone over the weekend while it was stationary off the coast of Oman.
CENTCOM stated, “The IRGC’s false claim is just another example of their lies and intimidation tactics as they attempt to disrupt commercial vessels in the strait.”
Oman did not assign blame, only stating that the fire in the engine room occurred after a prior attack and that it has now been extinguished.
UK Maritime Trade Operations reported on Monday that a vessel was hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait on September 14, but no damage or environmental issues were reported.
The Joint Maritime Information Center continues to classify the threat to commercial shipping in the Strait as severe, warning that there is a high likelihood of deliberate hostile actions.
These attacks have persisted despite claims from the U.S. stating that Iranian mines have been cleared from the internationally recognized shipping lanes in the Strait.
CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper mentioned in August that U.S. forces had spent months removing mines from the Traffic Separation Scheme. However, maritime authorities have continued to caution about the possibility of drifting or uncharted mines, stopping short of declaring the whole Strait free of mines.