Oman rescues 25 from burning oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz
Oman rescued 25 crew from a burning crude oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran said three tankers were halted for using 'unauthorised routes' and the US denied mine claims.
Oman has rescued 25 crew members from a burning crude oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, as vessels continue to come under threat in the strategic waterway.
The Omani Maritime Security Centre said on Friday it had evacuated the crew of the merchant ship RITI. Oman said the vessel was flying the Panamanian flag, while the tracking site MarineTraffic identified it as a crude oil tanker.
The rescue came as Iran said three oil tankers had been stopped while trying to use what it called "unauthorised routes" through the strait. It is unclear whether one of those vessels was the tanker evacuated by the Omanis.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said all three ships were carrying oil, including one supertanker, and that they were halted after "incidents" or mine strikes. In a statement, the IRGC said two of the tankers, one in the eastern part of the strait and one in the west, "encountered incidents and were brought to a halt in the waters south of the strait".
A later IRGC statement said a third vessel, a supertanker carrying more than two million barrels of oil, had "exploded and caught fire" while attempting to use an unauthorised route.
Iran's navy also said it struck and destroyed an unmanned enemy craft east of the strait on Friday. Tehran has warned ships not to transit without its permission and has asserted control over much of the waterway since the United States and Israel launched their war on February 28.
The US military denied Iran's mine claims. US Central Command chief Brad Cooper said the strait's "internationally recognised primary transit routes" had been cleared of Iranian sea mines.
Source: Al Jazeera English — TrendWire reports stories in its own words; facts should be confirmed against the original source.