Hormuz tanker strike injures 12 crew; Iran still weighs U.S. reply
A projectile hit the tanker On Peace in the Strait of Hormuz, injuring 12 of its 19 crew members, India's foreign ministry said Tuesday. Eleven of the hurt sailors are Indian, and they were taken with Oman's help to Khasab for care. Iran says it is still weighing a U.S. reply, sent through Qatar, to its plan to reopen the strait.
A tanker hit in the Strait of Hormuz has left a dozen sailors hurt. India's Ministry of External Affairs said Tuesday that 12 of the 19 crew members on the On Peace, a Panama-flagged oil tanker, were injured when a projectile struck the ship. Eleven of the injured are Indian. In all, 17 of the crew are Indian.
The injured were taken off with help from Omani officials and are being treated in Khasab, Oman, gCaptain and The National reported. Oman's defense ministry said an air force helicopter landed on the tanker's deck and lifted 10 of them out, The Maritime Executive reported. The ship is owned by Onex, a Dubai shipping firm, The National said.
Both gCaptain and The Maritime Executive called it one of the worst attacks on crews in the latest wave. India did not say who fired. "The continuing incidents of attacks on shipping in the region remain a cause of deep concern for India," the ministry said.
The On Peace appears to be the tanker that Britain's maritime agency, UKMTO, said was hit Monday evening, starting an engine-room fire. That link has not been confirmed, and India and Oman say the attack came Tuesday. gCaptain noted the ship is on an Iranian blacklist of vessels Tehran accuses of breaking its rules for using the strait.
The attacks keep coming. UKMTO also said Iran's Revolutionary Guard ordered a ship nearing the strait to turn around or risk attack, and it did. The Maritime Executive counted 12 likely Iranian attacks since last Wednesday. Iran's Fars news agency said Iran had acted against 13 ships in a week.
The U.S. is squeezing back. It has blocked ships going to or from Iranian ports since mid-July. U.S. Central Command says it has turned away 130 commercial ships.
Talks are moving slowly through Qatar. Iran says it is still reviewing Washington's answer to its seven-day plan. Under that plan, the U.S. would first end the fighting, release frozen Iranian money and lift the blockade, and then Iran would reopen the strait. Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf says the strait stays shut until Iran's seven conditions are met.
The war began Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. Iran has largely closed Hormuz since then, choking a key route for the world's oil and gas.
What we know: Twelve sailors were hurt, and Iran has not yet answered the U.S.
What we don't: Who fired, and when Iran will reply.
Where outlets agree gCaptain, The National and The Maritime Executive all report that 12 of the On Peace's crew were injured, 11 of them Indian, and were taken to Khasab, Oman, for treatment.
Where they differ The Maritime Executive and gCaptain say the On Peace appears to be the tanker UKMTO reported hit on Monday, but India and Oman say the attack happened Tuesday.