Two sailors missing after oil tanker hit by Iranian drone in Strait of Hormuz, US says
Iran's IRGC claims the El Gaia struck mines; CENTCOM says the tanker was hit by an Iranian missile last month and a drone over the weekend — and calls the mine story a lie.
Two crew members are missing and 23 have been rescued after the Panama-flagged oil tanker El Gaia was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, Oman's Maritime Security Center announced on Tuesday — with the United States and Iran offering flatly contradictory accounts of what struck the ship.
A Royal Navy of Oman vessel evacuated the 23 survivors after a fire broke out in the tanker's engine room. The El Gaia is being towed to an Omani port. Search and rescue operations for the two missing sailors were continuing as of Tuesday.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed the tanker caught fire after colliding with mines in the strait. US Central Command rejected that account directly, saying the ship had been struck by an Iranian missile the previous month and was hit again over the weekend — this time by an Iranian drone.
The IRGC's false claim is yet another example of their lies and intimidation attempts while they try to impede commercial vessels in the strait.— CENTCOM
The two accounts matter beyond the immediate dispute: US President Donald Trump had announced in recent weeks that all mines in the Strait of Hormuz had been removed or destroyed. If Iran's mine explanation were true, it would undercut that claim; CENTCOM's drone-and-missile version sidesteps that contradiction entirely.
All mines have been removed and/or detonated from within the International Waters of the Strait of Hormuz.— Donald Trump, US President
Reports of an attack on the El Gaia first emerged on Sunday. India's Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that 14 Indian nationals were among the crew, of whom 13 had been rescued, with search and rescue operations ongoing for the remaining missing individual.
Our Embassy in Oman is closely monitoring the situation and proactively coordinating with the Omani authorities.— Indian Ministry of External Affairs
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) separately reported that an unidentified projectile struck a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz at 2040 GMT on Monday, with no environmental impact. UKMTO did not identify the vessel, leaving it unclear whether that advisory concerned the El Gaia or a separate incident, according to Shafaq News.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Oman and Iran, is one of the world's most critical shipping lanes for oil. The El Gaia was approximately 103 nautical miles northeast of Musandam — Oman's northernmost peninsula — when it was attacked, according to Oman's Maritime Security Center.
Why it matters — The attack on the El Gaia — and the direct contradiction between Iran and the US over its cause — signals continued danger to commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important oil routes, weeks after Trump declared the waterway's mines cleared.
⚠ Not yet confirmed
- A UKMTO advisory about a projectile striking a vessel at 2040 GMT Monday may refer to the El Gaia or a separate incident.
- UKMTO 'causing a fire' detail (source states no damage)
Sources differ on Cause of the El Gaia fire and attack: The tanker caught fire after colliding with mines in the Strait of Hormuz. (Iran IRGC (via jpost.com)) vs The tanker was struck by an Iranian missile last month and by an Iranian drone over the weekend. (CENTCOM (via jpost.com))
Reported by shafaq.com, jpost.com
