LONDON: A ship attacked in the Strait of Hormuz this week is a Kuwaiti oil tanker, a British maritime monitor said on Thursday.
Al-Salam II was heading east through the waterway on Tuesday evening when it was hit by a projectile above the waterline, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported.
The attack caused a “small hole and a small fire,” which the crew extinguished. There were no injuries or reports of leaked oil.
The ship was the latest oil tanker to be attacked in the strait amid the conflict between the US and Iran.
Tehran has been blamed for most of the strikes, including several that have hit oil tankers from Arab Gulf countries.
After the war started on Feb. 28, Iran moved to blockade the key waterway, which serves as a major global conduit for energy exports.
The US has also set up a blockade on the eastern side of Hormuz to stop ships reaching Iranian ports.
The attack on Tuesday came a day after the Greek-owned tanker Metro Venetian was hit in the strait off the coast of Oman.
Other tankers attacked in the waterway this month have included two owned by UAE oil company ADNOC.
Several crew members were injured when another Kuwaiti tanker was hit last month, causing a large fire. Kuwait summoned the Iranian ambassador in protest.
The latest attack comes as figures show shipping traffic remains at a trickle through the strait compared to pre-war levels, Reuters reported.
Ten visible vessels transited Hormuz on Wednesday, up slightly from eight on Tuesday, data from Kpler showed. This was below a 10-day moving average of about 15 vessels.
Iran and Oman, which sit either side of the strait, have been negotiating an agreement on managing the waterway.
Meanwhile, negotiations between the US and Iran to end the conflict have fallen flat, with the two countries deadlocked over reopening Hormuz.
