The incident comes as Iran says four oil tankers trying to use “unauthorized routes” to cross the waterway have been arrested.
Published on October 30, 2026
Oman has rescued 25 crew members from a burning oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz as ships continue to be targeted in the besieged waterway.
The Omani Maritime Security Center said in a statement on Friday that it had evacuated the people on board the merchant ship RITI. Oman said the ship was Panama-flagged and tracking site MarineTraffic identified it as an oil tanker.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 elementsend of list
The incident came as Iran said four oil tankers attempting to use “unauthorized routes” to cross the Strait of Hormuz had been arrested.
It is unclear whether one of the ships was the tanker whose crew was evacuated by Omani maritime authorities.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the four ships were carrying oil and that the vessels were stopped following “incidents” or after hitting mines.
“Two violating oil tankers, one in the eastern and the other in the western part of the Strait of Hormuz, which attempted to pass through the unauthorized route, encountered incidents and were arrested in the waters south of the strait,” the IRGC said in a statement on Friday.
Hours later, the IRGC said two other tankers – each carrying more than two million barrels of oil – “exploded and caught fire” after hitting mines while trying to pass through an “unauthorized route”.
Meanwhile, the Iranian navy said Friday it had struck and destroyed an unmanned enemy craft east of the strait.
Iran has repeatedly warned ships against passing through the strait without permission from Tehran.
He has claimed responsibility for attacks on ships and said last month that ships attempting to transit Hormuz without permission would face “destruction.”
Tehran has asserted control over much of the waterway since the United States and Israel launched war against Iran on February 28.
US military denies allegations about naval mines. On Friday, the head of US Central Command, Brad Cooper, said the Strait of Hormuz’s “major internationally recognized transit routes” had been successfully cleared of Iranian sea mines.
Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz is operating at around 70 percent less than pre-war, Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations Agency (UKMTO) said on Friday.
Gn world
