Oman rescues 25 from burning ship, Iran halts tankers — SkimNews
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- Oman said its navy evacuated 25 crew members from the Panama-flagged merchant ship RITI after an attack caused a fire; the crew received medical care, and Marine Traffic identified RITI as a crude oil tanker.
- UKMTO reported that a ship 40 nautical miles (74 kilometres) south of Lavan Island was struck on Friday, October 30, by an unknown projectile, causing a fire; the crew was safe and no environmental impact was reported.
- IRGC said three oil tankers were halted after encountering unspecified “incidents” or mines, accusing them of ignoring radio warnings and using a southern route Tehran had declared unauthorized.
- IRGC later said a supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of oil stopped following an explosion after striking a naval mine, calling it the third oil tanker to explode and catch fire that day.
- Iran has required vessels to use a designated route through the strait and coordinate passage with its armed forces, declaring a southern corridor closer to Oman’s shores unauthorized; the waterway normally carries about one-fifth of global oil.
- Brad Cooper said U.S. forces had cleared Iranian sea mines from the strait’s internationally recognized primary transit routes and remained present; he visited more than 50,000 U.S. service members and said Washington had helped Gulf countries export more than 1.5 billion barrels since summer.
- U.S. responded to Iran’s blockade with a counterblockade of Iranian ports, further restricting Tehran’s ability to export oil and conduct trade.
Why it matters: For oil shippers, the Strait of Hormuz—normally carrying about one-fifth of global oil—now faces overlapping controls: Iran’s designated-passage rules, Washington’s counterblockade of Iranian ports, and U.S. claims that mines have been cleared from primary lanes. Three tankers were stopped and another vessel struck on October 30, making navigation rules the immediate operational constraint.
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