A supertanker caught fire after hitting two naval mines in the southern Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported on Monday, citing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The tanker was trying to transit the Strait illegally, the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement carried by Iranian media without identifying the vessel or its crew.
Other vessels that attempt to violate IRGC’s security rules would face the same fate, Iran said. Complying with Iranian regulations for crossing the Strait of Hormuz is mandatory, the Guards added.
The southern lane of the Strait of Hormuz close to Oman’s coasts has been used by vessels seeking to avoid the Iranian rules of moving in the northern corridor of the Strait, which Tehran controls.
The claim of a supertanker catching fire after hitting mines in the southern lane comes as hostilities reignited in the area this weekend, pushing oil prices higher as trade opened in Asia on Monday.
As of early morning in Europe, Brent Crude prices had moved above $90 per barrel again, rising by 3% to $90.72, while the U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, once again topped $85 per barrel, up 2.8% on the day.
On Sunday, U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, which sits inside the Strait of Hormuz. According to a U.S. Central Command spokesperson, the attack came after the IRGC were observed “preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz.”
CENTCOM described the action as a “limited, precise action against IRGC minelaying forces posing an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz.”
The renewed hostilities and attacks could make shippers more hesitant to move oil through the Strait of Hormuz, just as various reports showed that more oil has been moving out of the Persian Gulf in recent weeks.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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