Oman’s air force has evacuated 10 crew members of a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker following an attack in the Strait of Hormuz. The On Peace tanker was struck 9 nautical miles (about 17km) off the Omani port city of Limah on Tuesday, according to the Omani Ministry of Defence. The attack set off a fire on board the vessel.
It comes as security in the Strait of Hormuz continues to deteriorate amid the United States and Israel’s war on Iran. India’s foreign ministry, the Ministry of External Affairs, said at least 12 of the ship’s 19 crew members were injured when a projectile hit the vessel as it transited the strait. Seventeen of the 19 crew members were Indian nationals, it said, as were 11 of the injured.
The Indian government said in July that at least 10 Indian seafarers had been killed since the US-Israel war on Iran began in late February. Another attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz in September also killed an Indian sailor. Iran effectively closed the waterway after the US-Israel war began on February 28.
It has frequently attacked commercial vessels that do not use its designated route in the waterway, and has said it wants to charge ships for passage. At least seven other incidents involving tankers have been reported in the past week, according to Marisks, a shipping intelligence service. Despite the attacks, oil exports from the Middle East have risen to pre-war levels in recent weeks.
The seven-day moving average of Middle East crude exports reached 18.3 million barrels per day (bpd) on September 30, compared with about 18 million bpd on average in the 12 months before the war, according to provisional data from Kpler, a data firm. Still, prices remain high, with Brent crude futures rising to $101.51 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $72.48 the day before the war began.
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