Follow-Up: IRGC Navy Says Three Tankers Exploded and Caught Fire in the Strait of Hormuz; UK Agency Confirms One Tanker Fire, Crew Safe
TEHRAN — Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said in a statement on November 8 that three oil tankers had exploded and caught severe fire since the early hours of the day while transiting the Strait of Hormuz along what it called an unauthorized route, with thick smoke spreading across the strait.
The statement said the tankers had switched off their navigation and identification systems and blamed the fires on the conduct of U.S. forces. The IRGC Navy later released a video it said showed the moment the third tanker exploded. Iran did not name the three tankers, give their flags or report on their crews, and the cause of the explosions and fires has not been independently verified.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported the same day that a tanker was hit by an unidentified projectile and caught fire on the evening of November 7 while outbound from the Gulf, about 8 nautical miles northwest of Khasab on Oman's Musandam Peninsula, and that all crew were evacuated and safe. UKMTO attributed the attack to no one and did not confirm two further ships on fire; it is not yet clear whether that incident is one of the three cited by Iran.
A day earlier, the IRGC Navy said two tankers had struck mines and caught fire in the strait on November 7. Since the war began in February, Iran has imposed strict controls on transit through the strait, requiring ships to use routes it has approved. The Strait of Hormuz carries about a fifth of the world's crude oil shipments, and tankers have repeatedly struck mines or caught fire there in recent weeks.
(Source: IRGC Navy)
Source: IRGC Navy
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：一艘油轮在公海航行（资料图）。CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: An oil tanker at sea (file photo). CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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