Tanker hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz

A tanker was hit by three “unknown projectiles” as it left the Strait of Hormuz, the British maritime agency, UKMTO, announced on Tuesday September 1.

“A tanker reported being struck by three unknown projectiles while completing a transit out of the Strait of Hormuz. No casualties or environmental impacts were reported,” the UKMTO wrote on X, specifying that the incident occurred 17 nautical miles (31 km) east of Khasab (Oman).

Maritime security company Vanguard Tech later identified the vessel as the Liberian-flagged Senegal Prosperity. She said that “rockets hit the ship on its port side, the engine room and a ballast tank, causing a loss of communications.” The crew is safe and sound, she said.

Tehran has blocked the strategic Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war in the Middle East, triggered at the end of February by Israeli-American strikes against Iran. In response, the United States imposed a blockade on Iranian ports. Iran, which has said it wants to impose passage rights, has targeted numerous ships which it accuses of seeking to circumvent its preferred route.

Repeated attacks in the strait, where navigation was free before the start of the conflict, contributed to shattering the ceasefire concluded in April between Washington and Tehran.