Iran says 3 tankers caught fire in Hormuz

Three oil tankers caught fire on Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran regularly targets ships that transit without its authorization, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says in a statement.

Since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February, Tehran has severely restricted traffic through the strategic waterway, insisting vessels use routes authorized by the Islamic Republic.

The United States has in response imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and helped tankers travel the strait, which used to carry about one-fifth of global oil consumption.

“Since the early hours of this morning, three noncompliant tankers have exploded and caught fire while they were sailing in the illegal channel in the Strait of Hormuz,” the Revolutionary Guards say in a statement.

The Guards do not specify the names or nationality of the tankers.

Meanwhile, British maritime agency UKMTO reports that a tanker caught fire yesterday in the strait, off the coast of Khasab, Oman.

“Military authorities reported the tanker is on fire which has resulted in the evacuation of the crew,” the agency says in a statement, also reporting another tanker struck by an “unknown projectile” on Saturday.

Emirati state media says on Sunday that 22 people were rescued from a burning vessel in the Gulf of Oman and are in stable condition.

AFP is unable to confirm if the various reports reference the same incidents.