IRGC Says Another Tanker Struck a Mine South of the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday Evening, a Third After Saturday's Two (Iranian Claim)
Tehran — Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said in a statement released early on Monday that an oil tanker struck a naval mine in the southern reaches of the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday evening, triggering an explosion and fire in its engine room, Press TV reported. The IRGC Navy released video said to show the incident, and Reuters' Monday global markets briefing likewise noted that Iran said an oil tanker caught fire and exploded after striking a naval mine in the southern part of the strait.
According to the IRGC Navy statement, the tanker had switched off all its positioning and navigation systems from the start of its voyage, disregarded the regulations governing the Strait of Hormuz, and attempted to exit the waterway via an unauthorized southern route before the incident. The statement warned that vessels operating in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf that deactivate their navigation and identification systems "will be met with a firm and decisive response." Iranian officials have repeatedly said that the only safe passage through the strait is via routes designated and authorized by the IRGC Navy.
The Sunday incident is the third of its kind announced by Iran within days. On Saturday, October 17, the IRGC said two supertankers, each carrying about two million barrels of crude oil, struck mines and caught fire in the strait, as reported in this site's October 17 batch. Reuters reported that the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) is reporting more attacks on shipping every day, and that the disruption has pushed tanker rates to record highs and lifted insurance charges, adding to the cost of every barrel shipped.
As of early Monday, Iran had not released the name, flag or crew details of the tanker involved in the Sunday incident, and the claim had not been independently confirmed. (GSM, from Press TV and Reuters reports)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 海上航行中的超级油轮资料图（非涉事油轮）。图：PA2 Dan Tremper，美国海岸警卫队，Wikimedia Commons，Public domain（经 Commons API 实查）。File photo of a supertanker at sea (not the vessel involved). Photo: PA2 Dan Tremper, U.S. Coast Guard, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (verified via Commons API).
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