Shipping traffic remains below normal levels, and disruptions have caused oil prices to rise
An oil tanker reported to have been damaged in the Strait of Hormuz has become the focus of conflicting claims from Iran and the United States.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the tanker had exploded and caught fire after hitting mines in the strategic waterway, according to Iranian state news agency Fars. Fars identified the vessel as the El Gaia, a Panama-flagged tanker. All 14 crew members were reported to be from India.
But the US Central Command (CENTCOM) rejected the account, saying the vessel had been hit by an Iranian missile last month and had recently been struck again by an Iranian drone. CENTCOM said the tanker was now being towed by a regional partner.
“The IRGC’s false claim is yet another example of their lies and intimidation attempts while they try to impede commercial vessels in the strait,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.
Reports of an incident involving the El Gaia first emerged on Sunday. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said 14 Indian crew members were aboard the vessel, with 13 rescued. Search and rescue operations for the remaining crew member were continuing.
“Our Embassy in Oman is closely monitoring the situation and proactively coordinating with the Omani authorities,” the ministry said.
The latest incident comes amid continuing disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil and gas supplies.
The claims over the tanker come weeks after US President Donald Trump said all mines in the Strait of Hormuz had been removed or destroyed. “All mines have been removed and/or detonated from within the International Waters of the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump wrote.
The US has said shipping traffic through the waterway is recovering. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Sunday that an average of 10 million barrels of oil a day had passed through Hormuz over the previous week. “We’re back to two-thirds or north of two-thirds of the previous flows,” Wright said, according to Bloomberg News.
“The world oil markets are tighter than we’d like today, but they’re not overly tight,” he added.
Trump has also said the US is in “total control” of the strait and that American forces are escorting vessels carrying millions of barrels of oil through the waterway.
Around a fifth of global oil and gas supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has rejected the US assessment and says it controls access to the waterway. Tehran has warned ships against using routes it has not authorised and last week announced a new restricted shipping zone around the strait.