The UK Maritime Trade Operations has reported a security incident on August 31 involving the Saudi-flagged VLCC SIDR, which lost two crewmembers. Authorities confirmed that two Filipino sailors were killed. Iran claims the vessel struck a mine.
On Wednesday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) confirmed that two Filipino crew members of the Saudi-flagged VLCC SIDR were killed in the August 31 security incident, with Iran claiming the vessel struck a mine. This latest update follows earlier reports on Tuesday — published initially by Reuters and then confirmed by the Saudi National Shipping Company — that two Saudi oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz had been struck by missiles from Iran, and that two sailors were killed.
On Tuesday, September 1, at 14:17 Jerusalem time, Reuters reported that two Saudi oil tankers, carrying approximately 4 million barrels of crude, were hit within minutes of each other by missiles launched from Iran. Shortly thereafter, at the same timestamp, the Saudi National Shipping Company confirmed that two sailors were killed in the incident. At that stage, the nationalities of the victims and the nature of the attack remained unconfirmed. On Wednesday, UKMTO issued a report identifying the two deceased as Filipino nationals, while Iranian sources claimed the tanker struck a mine.
The incident is the latest in a series of maritime security events in the region, as The Zioneer has documented. On July 14, the UAE Ministry of Defense confirmed that Iranian cruise missiles struck two Emirati tankers off Oman, killing one Indian crew member and wounding eight. In June, an unidentified projectile struck the bridge of a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz; the crew reported no injuries. Houthi forces have also claimed strikes on Saudi tankers off Jazan.
Key questions remain open. The cause of the SIDR incident is disputed: initial reports indicated missile strikes from Iran, while Tehran now claims a mine strike. The fate and condition of the second Saudi tanker reported by Reuters have not been clarified, and the exact location of the incident has not been disclosed.
3 developments
- DevelopingUKMTO reports Gulf of Oman security incident involved tanker and military forces
- DevelopingUKMTO warns of incident off Jazan after Houthi claim of strike on Saudi tanker
- DevelopingUKMTO: oil product tanker attacked by armed skiff southeast of Yemen's Ash Shihr
- StrongOman maritime center calls tanker GFS Galaxy incident an 'accident'; 23 rescued, one missing
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