Saudi Arabia has condemned what it said was an Iranian attack on a Saudi-owned supertanker on Monday night that killed two Filipino sailors.
The Saudi national shipping company, Bahri, confirmed on Wednesday that its vessel Sidr was "involved in a security incident while transiting the Strait of Hormuz".
Sidr was hit by projectiles north of Oman's Musandam Peninsula, according to maritime security firms. A South Korean-owned supertanker, Senegal Prosperity, was reportedly struck east of Musandam around the same time.
Iran has not responded to the Saudi allegation. But it said earlier that two tankers had caught fire after hitting mines while using an unauthorised route through the strait.
The news of the sailors' deaths came after the US military carried out a wave of air strikes on Iran and Iranian forces targeted US bases in neighbouring Arab states with missiles and drones in their biggest exchange of fire since July.
On Wednesday Iran's health minister said 18 people were killed and 108 injured in the US attacks. Iran has accused the US of a "war crime" over a strike that killed four people including two children at a wedding party in the southern city of Sirik. The US military said it was looking into the reports.
Shipping company Bahri's statement said the unspecified "security incident" affecting Sidr happened in the Strait of Hormuz at around 23:40 local time (19:40 GMT) on Monday.
"It is with profound sadness that Bahri confirms the loss of two of its Filipino seafarers as a result of the incident," it added. “The company extends its deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to their families, loved ones, and colleagues during this difficult time.”
Later, the Saudi foreign ministry expressed the kingdom's condemnation of "Iran's targeting of the Saudi tanker (Sidr) while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz".
It also condemned the recent Iranian attacks on Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, and stressed the "need to halt escalation and respect the security and safety of international navigation", as well as the security of global energy supplies, national sovereignty, and international law.
The statements were issued a day after maritime risk management and intelligence firms Marisks and Kpler reported that two tankers each loaded with two million barrels of Saudi crude oil were struck by unknown projectiles within minutes of each other as they transited outbound through the Strait of Hormuz late on Monday.
Sidr was struck by "unknown projectiles" at 19:52 GMT about 16 nautical miles (30km) north-east of Khasab, Oman, while Senegal Prosperity was struck by "three unknown projectiles" about 17 nautical miles east of Khasab, according to Marisks.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency also reported two incidents in the same locations.
On Wednesday, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps said in a statement that two oil tankers sought "at the urging of the US military to transit via an illegal route" in the Strait of Hormuz before "striking mines and exploding". The vessels were "currently on fire", it added.
The US military has not commented, but it said the latest strikes on Iran followed "recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members".
The Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and gas shipments usually pass, has effectively been closed since the start of the US and Israel's war with Iran in February due to Iranian missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels and a US 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.
Despite the Iranian attacks, US President Donald Trump has declared that the strait is "open" and the US military has been helping ships navigate the southern route.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said 17 million barrels of oil flowed through the Strait of Hormuz by ship on Monday - a record daily total since the start of the war.
Source: BBC
– Agencies
