Tehran: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said on Sunday that a third supertanker had struck a naval mine while using an "unauthorized" route in the Strait of Hormuz in two days, as strikes around the strategic waterway intensify.
What the IRGC claims
According to a statement published on the IRGC's official news outlet Sepah News, a crude oil supertanker attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz via an unauthorized route in the southern part of the waterway struck a naval mine, triggering a powerful explosion and a fire in its engine room. The vessel, the IRGC said, had switched off its navigation and positioning systems before the incident, and was burning in a massive fire visible to people living along the coast.
The IRGC Navy warned that all vessels within the Strait of Hormuz that switch off their navigation and identification systems will be treated as hostile and dealt with "firmly and decisively". It said action against vessels using unauthorized routes would no longer be confined to the strait but pursued across the region. The claims could not be independently verified.
Escalating pressure on the waterway
The IRGC said a similar incident occurred on Saturday, when a supertanker carrying crude oil was engulfed in flames after striking a naval mine. On Friday, the IRGC Navy said its forces had struck a large liquefied petroleum gas carrier identified as NV Sunshine as it sought to cross the strait through an "illegal" route south of the waterway. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday that his country would not abandon the negotiating table even as mediated efforts to end the war on Iran remained deadlocked.
About one-fifth of the world's oil and gas passes through the strait in peacetime, but commercial traffic has fallen sharply amid the conflict, with vessel movements reported down to single digits.
Sources:
Hormuz attacks intensify as efforts to end war on Iran stall — Al Jazeera
Video: Supertanker Hits Mine, Catches Fire While Trying To Exit Strait — NDTV
What the IRGC claims
According to a statement published on the IRGC's official news outlet Sepah News, a crude oil supertanker attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz via an unauthorized route in the southern part of the waterway struck a naval mine, triggering a powerful explosion and a fire in its engine room. The vessel, the IRGC said, had switched off its navigation and positioning systems before the incident, and was burning in a massive fire visible to people living along the coast.
The IRGC Navy warned that all vessels within the Strait of Hormuz that switch off their navigation and identification systems will be treated as hostile and dealt with "firmly and decisively". It said action against vessels using unauthorized routes would no longer be confined to the strait but pursued across the region. The claims could not be independently verified.
Escalating pressure on the waterway
The IRGC said a similar incident occurred on Saturday, when a supertanker carrying crude oil was engulfed in flames after striking a naval mine. On Friday, the IRGC Navy said its forces had struck a large liquefied petroleum gas carrier identified as NV Sunshine as it sought to cross the strait through an "illegal" route south of the waterway. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday that his country would not abandon the negotiating table even as mediated efforts to end the war on Iran remained deadlocked.
About one-fifth of the world's oil and gas passes through the strait in peacetime, but commercial traffic has fallen sharply amid the conflict, with vessel movements reported down to single digits.
Sources:
Hormuz attacks intensify as efforts to end war on Iran stall — Al Jazeera
Video: Supertanker Hits Mine, Catches Fire While Trying To Exit Strait — NDTV
