WANA (Sep 13) – Amid continuing reports of security incidents in the Strait of Hormuz, a Panama-flagged oil tanker was struck by a missile while transiting the strategic waterway and was forced to stop. Hours later, local authorities reported that an Iranian commercial vessel was hit by an unidentified projectile near Hengam Island, leaving one person dead and three others injured.

 

The UK Maritime Security Organization reported that the Panama-flagged tanker was struck by a missile while passing through the Strait of Hormuz and subsequently stopped. No further details have been released about the tanker’s identity, the source of the missile or the extent of the damage.

 

The incident came after reports emerged overnight of missiles being fired toward the Strait of Hormuz. No further details have so far been provided about that incident.

 

Meanwhile, maritime tracking data indicated a significant decline in vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. According to the data, only one tanker transited the waterway the previous day — the Chinese-flagged tanker Lisa, whose tracking system was active.

 

In a separate incident, Qeshm Governor Hossein Amirteimouri said an Iranian commercial vessel was struck by an unidentified projectile at around 5 a.m. local time near Hengam Island and the Shib Deraz coast of Qeshm Island.

 

Amirteimouri said the incident left one person dead and three others injured. He added that investigations into the circumstances of the incident were ongoing and that the type of projectile that struck the vessel had not yet been determined.

 

Hengam, Hormuz, Larak and Qeshm are Iranian islands located near the Strait of Hormuz, with key maritime routes into the Persian Gulf running south of Hengam and Larak.

 

The incidents come amid heightened tensions around the strategic waterway. U.S. President Donald Trump said the previous day that the United States was in control of the Strait of Hormuz and had removed naval mines from the waterway.