Two sailors missing after tanker attacked in Strait of Hormuz, Oman says

September 15, 2026 at 06:05 PM3 min

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Two sailors are missing and 23 others were rescued after an attack on the Panama-flagged oil tanker El Gaia in the Strait of Hormuz, Oman's Maritime Security Centre said. The vessel was being towed to an Omani port on Tuesday after a fire broke out in its engine room. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the tanker hit naval mines, while the US military called that report false and said the ship was struck by an Iranian missile and drone.

Key Facts

The attack occurred 1.3 nautical miles north of the Musandam peninsula, according to Oman's Maritime Security Centre.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the tanker hit naval mines and caught fire while passing through a restricted and unsafe route.
The US military said the tanker was struck by an Iranian missile last month and again by a drone over the weekend.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre received a report of a fire on board a vessel struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz early Sunday.
At least 22 seafarers have been killed in 79 confirmed incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and the rest of the Middle East since the start of the US and Israel's war with Iran at the end of February, according to the International Maritime Organization.

The Attack

Oman's Maritime Security Centre said the Panama-flagged El Gaia was targeted 1.3 nautical miles north of the Musandam peninsula. A fire broke out in the tanker's engine room, and the vessel was being towed to an Omani port on Tuesday. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre reported a fire on board a vessel struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz in the early hours of Sunday.

Conflicting Accounts

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the tanker, named Sidr, hit naval mines and caught fire while passing through what they described as a restricted and unsafe route. The US military insisted the Iranian report was false, saying the tanker was struck by an Iranian missile last month and again by a drone over the weekend. Saudi authorities said the vessel was targeted by Iran, and maritime security firms reported it was hit by projectiles north of Musandam.

Strait of Hormuz Context

The International Maritime Organization says at least 22 seafarers have been killed in 79 confirmed incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and the rest of the Middle East since the start of the US and Israel's war with Iran at the end of February. The Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and gas shipments usually pass, has effectively been closed due to Iranian missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels and a US naval blockade of Iranian ports. The US and Iran reached a preliminary agreement to end the war and reopen the strait in June, but it collapsed within weeks after the Iranian attacks on shipping resumed and the US reinstated its blockade. Iran has insisted it will not give up some measure of control over the waterway and has targeted vessels using a southern route through Omani waters that avoids its preferred route through Iranian waters.