Two sailors are missing and twenty-three others have been rescued following an attack on an oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz, according to Omani officials.

Oman's Maritime Security Centre reported that the Panama-flagged vessel, the El Gaia, was towed to an Omani port after a fire broke out in its engine room. The ship was targeted a short distance north of the Musandam peninsula.

Conflicting accounts surround the cause of the incident. Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed the tanker struck naval mines while navigating a restricted route. Conversely, the US military dismissed this claim, stating the vessel was struck by an Iranian missile the previous month and hit by a drone over the weekend. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre also received reports that a vessel caught fire after being struck by an unidentified projectile while transiting the area.

This event follows a similar incident earlier in the month involving a Saudi-owned oil supertanker named the Sidr, which resulted in the deaths of two Filipino sailors. While Iranian authorities asserted that the ship hit a naval mine, Saudi authorities and maritime security firms reported it was struck by projectiles.

According to the International Maritime Organization, at least twenty-two seafarers have died across seventy-nine confirmed incidents in the Middle East since the onset of the conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran. The Strait of Hormuz—a vital trade route handling a significant portion of global oil and gas shipments—has faced severe disruptions due to military actions and naval blockades. Efforts to establish a preliminary agreement to reopen the waterway collapsed as shipping attacks and blockades resumed, leaving tensions high over control of the crucial passage.