Two sailors are missing while 23 others have been rescued after an oil tanker was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, Oman’s Maritime Security Centre said.
The Panama-flagged El Gaia was being towed towards an Omani port on Tuesday after a fire broke out in its engine room. Authorities said the vessel was targeted about 1.3 nautical miles (2.4km) north of the Musandam peninsula.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed the tanker struck a naval mine while travelling through what they called a restricted and unsafe route. However, the US military rejected the claim, saying the vessel had been hit by an Iranian missile last month and a drone over the weekend.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre also reported that a vessel was hit by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in a fire.
The incident comes after a similar attack earlier this month that killed two Filipino sailors aboard the Saudi-owned tanker Sidr. Iran again blamed a naval mine, while Saudi authorities and maritime security firms said the vessel had been targeted by Iran.
According to the International Maritime Organization, at least 22 seafarers have been killed in 79 confirmed incidents across the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Middle East since the US-Israel war with Iran began at the end of February.
The Strait, which normally carries around one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments, has effectively been closed amid Iranian attacks on commercial vessels and a US naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran has maintained that it will retain some control over the strategic waterway and has targeted vessels using a southern route through Omani waters.