ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence says two UAE-owned oil tankers were struck by Iranian cruise missiles near the Strait of Hormuz, leaving one Indian crew member dead and eight others injured.
According to the ministry, the attack occurred in the southern approach to the Strait of Hormuz while both tankers were sailing in Omani territorial waters.
The ministry said the deceased crew member was aboard the oil tanker Mombasa Bay. Of the eight injured sailors, six are Indian nationals and two are Ukrainian citizens, with four reported to be in critical condition.
Following the incident, ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S), the shipping arm of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, confirmed that the crude oil tankers Mombasa Bay and Al Bahia sustained damage while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the UAE Ministry of Defence, both vessels caught fire after the strikes, causing material damage. The fires were later brought under control.
In response to the incident, India’s Ministry of External Affairs summoned Iran’s Deputy Ambassador in New Delhi following the reported attack on the UAE-owned tankers.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on Tuesday that it had targeted and disabled two supertankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement, the IRGC alleged that the vessels had ignored multiple warnings, switched off their navigation systems, and attempted to pass through what it described as a minefield route designated by Iranian forces.
However, the IRGC did not identify the vessels by name, nor did it clarify whether the ships it referred to were the same tankers cited by the UAE Ministry of Defence.
The differing accounts from the UAE and Iran could not be independently verified. The reported attack comes amid heightened tensions in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic maritime route through which a significant portion of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas exports passes. The incident has raised fresh concerns over the security of international shipping and energy supplies in the Gulf region.
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