US-Iran war: Two oil supertankers targeted by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, Marisks reports

As the United States and Iran exchanged fire for the first time in a month, signalling a return to hostilities, maritime security consultant Marisks said on Tuesday (local time) that two oil supertankers were struck by unknown projectiles in quick succession while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil tankers hit by ‘unknown projectiles’

While one of the crude carriers, Sidr, operated by Saudi Arabia’s Bahri shipping company, was targeted northeast of Khasab, Oman, the Senegal Prosperity, operated by Sinokor, was struck by three projectiles while travelling east of the country. Both vessels were exiting the Persian Gulf, Bloomberg reported, citing the consultant.

The development came hours after the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a British maritime agency, reported that a tanker was struck by three unknown projectiles while completing an outbound transit of the strategic waterway.

In a post on X, the maritime agency wrote, "A tanker has reported being struck by 3 unknown projectiles whilst completing an outbound transit of the Strait of Hormuz." The incident occurred 17 nautical miles (31 kilometres) east of the Omani city of Khasab, it noted, adding that no casualties or environmental impact were reported.

While UKMTO did not identify the vessel, an AFP report, citing maritime security company Vanguard Tech, later identified it as the Liberia-flagged Senegal Prosperity. Vanguard said, "The rockets impacted the vessel's port side, engine room and ballast tank, resulting in a loss of communications," and added that the crew was safe.

Preliminary shiptracking data released Tuesday showed that about five commodity vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, broadly unchanged from the weekend and well below the 10-day average of roughly 14. The decline comes as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) continues to block the strategic waterway, through which nearly a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies passed before the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.

Trump vows to hit Iran ‘hard’

Earlier on Monday, US President Donald Trump threatened to hit Iran "hard" after the two sides traded strikes for the first time in weeks, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed to keep up the pressure campaign against Tehran to overthrow the country's economy.

The exchange raised fears of a return to major hostilities, with the US president vowing to respond. Speaking to a Fox News reporter, he said, "We're going to hit them hard."

On 30 August, Washington carried out strikes on an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran retaliating and targeting US military bases in the Middle East. The US said it attacked Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island to stop Tehran from planting mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The latter responded by launching missile and drone attacks at Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), stating that they targeted US troops there.

However, on Monday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called for dialogue. Pezeshkian, who is in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to attend the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, said Tehran would "immediately" reciprocate if Washington returned to the commitments under the interim deal signed by the two leaders in June.

(with agency inputs)