An oil tanker with Indians onboard was hit in the Strait of Hormuz near Oman on Sunday, as tensions continue to remain high across the entire Middle East following US-Israel's joint strike on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
A video is also going viral on micro-blogging website X (formerly Twitter) that showed the moment when the Palau-flagged oil tanker, named Skylight, was targeted by Iranian missiles. At the time of the missile strike, around 20 people, including some Indians, were present on the oil tanker. Four of them were injured in the strike.
"The Maritime Security Centre announced that the oil tanker (SKYLIGHT), flying the flag of the Republic of Palau, was targeted 5 nautical miles north of the port of Khasab in the governorate of Musandam," Oman News Agency posted on X. "All crew members of the tanker, consisting of 20 people, including 15 Indians and 5 Iranians, were evacuated. Initial information indicates that four members of the ship's crew sustained varying injuries."
The Strait of Hormuz and its importance
Many of the vessels and oil tankers on Saturday received a radio transmission, which said Iran's Revolutionary Guards have decided to block the Strait of Hormuz in response to the US-Israel strikes. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most crucial maritime chokepoints in the entire world, and around 20 to 30 per cent of the global crude supplies pass through it.
Except Russia, all of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman, depend on the Strait of Hormuz for exporting crude oil. If blocked, it could cause extremely serious economic repercussions. Thus, Iran is planning to destabilise the entire region by blocking it.
Iran is also targeting US bases in the region, which has irked Washington. President Donald Trump has now warned Iran of further escalating the situation. Nearly all of the Gulf nations have also urged Iran to stop escalating the situation, saying the situation must be resolved through a dialogue.
