Two Filipino sailors were killed after a Saudi oil tanker came under attack while transiting the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week, Saudi Arabia’s national shipping company has confirmed.
Bahri, the Saudi shipping firm, said its vessel, SIDR, was involved in a security incident late Monday while passing through the strategic waterway.
“Bahri confirms that its vessel SIDR was involved in a security incident while transiting the Strait of Hormuz” late on Monday, the company said, confirming “the loss of its two Filipino seafarers.”
A Greek maritime security firm had earlier reported that “unknown projectiles” struck the vessel on Monday as fresh violence intensified between the United States and Iran.
The incident comes after six months of war between Washington and Tehran, with tensions remaining high and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz severely disrupted.
Iran has maintained a blockade of the strategic waterway, while the United States has continued with a counter-blockade targeting Iranian ports.
Overnight from Monday into Tuesday, unidentified projectiles struck two oil tankers travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Greek maritime risk management firm Marisks.
Both vessels had loaded about two million barrels of crude at Juaymah on Saudi Arabia’s eastern coast the previous week, according to data from Kpler.
On Wednesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said two oil tankers caught fire after striking mines while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States has renewed attacks on Iran this week, while Tehran has retaliated in the Gulf, mainly targeting US assets.
Iran has said it wants to charge service fees for vessels using the waterway and has attacked ships it accuses of attempting to bypass its preferred route through the strait.
The Strait of Hormuz had remained open to commercial shipping before the latest war, but attacks on vessels passing through the waterway previously contributed to the collapse of an April ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
Source: AFP
