WANA (Mar 05) – Two U.S. commercial vessels have become stranded in a rocky section of the southern Strait of Hormuz, near the coast of Oman, and are unable to move forward or turn back.

 

An informed source said the vessels are trapped in shallow, rock-filled waters in the southern part of the strait—an area known for its challenging geographical conditions and high navigational risk.

 

The incident comes a day after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed that two American-flagged commercial ships had passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a claim that was later denied by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The same source now states that the rocky and shallow waters near Oman’s coastline have left the vessels unable to either proceed or retreat.

 

From a geographical standpoint, the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz, particularly near the Musandam and Al-Khail islands, does not have the capacity to function as a viable maritime corridor. The presence of rocky seabeds and shallow depths makes navigation in this area highly dangerous.

 

These developments come as a large fire broke out at oil facilities in the UAE’s Fujairah port on Monday afternoon. A military source had previously described the fire as the result of U.S. military adventurism aimed at creating an unauthorized passage for ships through restricted routes in the Strait of Hormuz.