Published: · Region: Middle East · Category: conflict

Projectile Hit Near Hormuz Puts Tanker Crews Back in the Firing Line

A commercial vessel was struck by an unidentified projectile off Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, forcing its crew to fight a fire in one of the world’s most sensitive energy corridors. The attack raises fresh questions for shipowners, insurers, and governments already on edge over Iran–US tensions and threats to Gulf traffic.

A ship fire off the coast of Oman has pushed the crews who move the world’s energy back into the line of risk at the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea passage that carries a significant share of global oil and gas exports. A commercial vessel was hit by an unidentified projectile near the chokepoint on 8 August, igniting a blaze that the crew managed to extinguish before the ship or the environment suffered major damage, according to a maritime advisory body. The incident occurred in waters off Oman close to the approaches of the Strait, a 33-kilometer-wide bottleneck that separates Iran from the Arabian Peninsula. The UK Maritime Trade…

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