The Navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said a supertanker attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz through a “forbidden” route south of the waterway exploded and caught fire after hitting naval mines.
In a statement published by the IRGC’s official news outlet, Sepah News, the navy said efforts to contain the fire aboard the tanker, identified as “EL GAIA,” were unsuccessful, with the entire vessel eventually engulfed in flames.
The IRGC Navy said warnings had previously been issued about the dangers of using the “illegal” route through the strategic waterway. It reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and under the control of Iranian naval forces.
Earlier on Monday, Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), which oversees maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, warned insurance companies and classification societies against providing services to ships included on its updated list of “violating” vessels, Xinhua News Agency reported.
In a post on its account on social media platform X, the PGSA said that insurance companies, protection and indemnity insurance (P&I) clubs, and classification societies “are warned to refrain from providing services to these vessels to avoid consequences arising from dealing with them.”
Earlier this month, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its naval forces had targeted a US unmanned surface vehicle (USV) in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement carried by its official news outlet, Sepah News, the IRGC said the Saildrone Explorer-type USV was carrying out an “aggressive mission” when it was struck at the entrance to the strait.
The IRGC said Saildrone Explorer USVs had previously been deployed in the region by the US Fifth Fleet and Task Force 59, both headquartered in Bahrain. It added that Iran had targeted the US naval base in Bahrain in its strikes, and that the USVs are now operated by a unit based in Khasab, Oman.
The IRGC reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and under Iranian control, warning that “any hostile presence in the strategic waterway will be targeted.”
Following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, Tehran restricted passage through the strategic waterway, while US forces imposed a naval blockade targeting vessels travelling to and from Iranian ports.