Tanker crew abandons vessel after reported projectile strike in Strait of Hormuz, UKMTO says
XLE•UKMTO reports tanker struck and crew evacuated
July 21 (Reuters) - A tanker in the Strait of Hormuz reported being struck by an unknown projectile, forcing its crew to abandon the vessel and board a lifeboat, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said on Tuesday.
UKMTO said it had received multiple reports on Tuesday that a tanker had broadcast over VHF Channel 16 that it had been hit by an unknown projectile. The incident was reported eight nautical miles east of Oman's Limah and authorities were investigating.
UKMTO said the tanker's company security officer had reported that the crew had abandoned the vessel and were aboard a lifeboat and no environmental impact had been reported.
UKMTO did not identify the ship or its owner.
Iranian Guards cite separate tanker fires and rising tensions
Separately, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday that two oil tankers had caught fire after explosions while attempting to transit the southern route of the strait.
The Guards said rescue teams were removing the crews from the area but did not identify the vessels. Reuters could not independently verify the Guards' statement.
It was not immediately clear whether the tanker reported by UKMTO was among those cited by the Guards.
The Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, was the main transit route before the conflict for around a fifth of global energy supplies.
Tensions have escalated since a fragile truce between Washington and Tehran collapsed in early July, reviving heavy exchanges of strikes and further disrupting shipping through the waterway.
The United States reimposed a blockade of Iranian ports from July 14, including firing at an empty tanker in the strait that Washington said was bound for Iran. Iran has said it launched operations against U.S. bases in retaliation for what it called maritime violations.
