Two oil supertankers were disabled by massive explosions in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday night after ignoring warnings not to use an “unauthorised route” through the waterway, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy said on Thursday.
The two vessels were carrying a combined total of more than four million barrels of oil and were left burning after the blasts, according to the Guards’ statement.
“Last night, two tankers — acting in violation of regulations and despite repeated warnings from the Revolutionary Guards Navy regarding the unauthorised and dangerous nature of the southern maritime route — were involved in an accident while traversing this prohibited path in the strait,” the Guards said.
The statement did not explain what caused the explosions, describing the incident only as an accident that left the two tankers immobilised after a “violent explosion”. Iranian state media later said the tankers had “exploded after hitting naval mines” and showed what it said was video footage of the incidents.
There was no independent confirmation of what caused the explosions. The names, flags and crews of the two tankers had not been publicly identified.
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks on shipping in the strait since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in February. In the earlier months of the war, the Revolutionary Guards Navy said it had struck tankers directly; more recently, it has reported vessels catching fire after hitting naval mines on what it calls an unauthorised southern route. In several cases, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency has said tankers in the strait were struck by unknown projectiles.
Source: Reuters
