Ali Khamanei killed; Trump warns of more US strikes; United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait hit by Iranian missiles; Iranian girls school death roll rises in Minab
At least three tankers were damaged off the Gulf coast after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered Iranian retaliation that left commercial ships at risk of collateral damage, shipping sources and officials said Sunday.
Shipping data published on Sunday showed risks to commercial shipping had increased in the past 24 hours, with more than 200 ships, including oil and liquefied gas tankers, anchoring in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters.
Iran announced that it has closed transportation in the critical waterway.
“The US-Israeli attack on Iran significantly increases the security risk to ships operating in the Persian Gulf and neighboring waters,” said Jakob Larsen, chief of safety and security at maritime union BIMCO.
“Ships with business ties to US or Israeli interests are more likely to be targeted, but other ships may also be targeted deliberately or accidentally.”
A Palau-flagged oil tanker under US sanctions was hit off Oman’s Musandam peninsula on Sunday, injuring four people, the country’s maritime security center said, without specifying what hit the ship.
Marshall Islands-flagged crude oil tanker MKD VYOM was hit by a shell off the coast of Oman while sailing with a cargo, two maritime security sources said on Sunday.
The UK Merchant Marine Operations center said a loaded merchant ship reported an explosion at the same location. Maritime security sources said a separate tanker in the United Arab Emirates’ Jebel Ali port was nearly damaged by falling debris from an aerial attack following Iran’s nightly attacks targeting Gulf states.
A third oil fuel tanker was damaged off the coast of the UAE, two shipping sources said.
The U.S. transportation department’s Maritime Administration said in a memo on Saturday that ships were advised to avoid the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman due to the risk of retaliatory attacks by Iran.
“Any US-flagged, owned or crewed commercial vessel operating in these areas should be kept 30 nautical miles away from US military vessels to reduce the risk of being perceived as a threat,” the statement said.
One fifth of the world’s oil trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
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