Follow-up: Operator Confirms Tanker Velos Sapphire Was Hit Near Hormuz, One Crew Member Killed
PERSIAN GULF — Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz flared again on November 6: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had shot down a U.S. MQ-1 drone over Qeshm Island, and a Greek-managed oil tanker was hit in an explosion in the Persian Gulf early the previous morning, killing one seafarer.
Iranian media, citing a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on November 6, said the Guard's air defences had destroyed the 16th U.S. MQ-1 reconnaissance-combat drone over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters carried the claim and noted there was no immediate confirmation from the United States. The Guard said on Wednesday that it had downed the 15th drone of the same type, and on Thursday said it had forced down two U.S. MQM-170 reconnaissance drones using electronic warfare. All of these claims are Iranian statements that have not been independently verified.
The tanker attack took place at about 1:15 a.m. on November 5. According to a statement from the Greek shipping company Velos Tankers, its Marshall Islands-flagged tanker MT Velos Sapphire was struck on the port side of the stern by an unidentified flying object while sailing unladen toward Sitra port in Bahrain, causing an explosion and fire. One seafarer, first reported missing after the explosion, was found fatally injured on board; no other crew members were hurt, the crew extinguished the fire, and no pollution was reported. The vessel later made for Bahrain's Khalifa Bin Salman Port, where an investigation will be launched.
Both incidents took place in waters around the Strait of Hormuz.S. military said it had disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers the same day; this report covers two new incidents on the same shipping lane. Iran says it controls the waterway and that vessels without its authorization may not pass; the United States says the strait remains open to commercial shipping. Each side's account of the tanker and drone incidents is its own claim and has not been independently verified.
Source: Velos Tankers
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：霍尔木兹海峡卫星图（NASA）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，公共领域。 / Photo: Satellite view of the Strait of Hormuz (NASA). Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
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