MUSCAT: The Omani navy rescued 24 crew members of a Malta-flagged container ship struck by missiles while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, state media said, as Iran pressed its Gulf retaliation campaign.
The cargo ship was “hit by two missiles” and Oman’s royal navy rescued its “crew of 24 people” who are now in good health, the Oman News Agency said.
Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the ship was two nautical miles north of Oman, “transiting eastbound in the Straits of Hormuz” when it was “hit by an unknown projectile just above the water line causing a fire in the engine room.”
Private maritime security agency Vanguard Tech said the vessel was the Malta-flagged Safeen Prestige. Information from shipping activity tracker Marine Traffic shows the vessel was en route from the UAE’s Ghantoot port to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
It was the fourth reported attack in regional waters within 24 hours, after projectiles struck or landed near three other vessels off the Emirati and Omani coasts.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday said they had “complete control” over the vital waterway, through which around 20 percent of global seaborne oil passes, and warned that any vessels seeking to pass risked damage from missiles or stray drones.
With energy prices already spiking, US President Donald Trump had said the US Navy was ready to escort oil tankers through the crucial shipping route.