Tanker Kavomaleas hit by unknown projectile, catches fire in Strait of Hormuz near Kumzar
The tanker Kavomaleas caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz late Sunday after an unknown projectile hit it near Kumzar, UKMTO reports. The crew abandoned ship and was recovered by tug; the vessel remains adrift and burning. Iran's IRGC says it struck two non-compliant tankers in th
A tanker caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz late Sunday after being struck by an unknown projectile, the latest incident in one of the world's most contested shipping lanes. The vessel, identified as the Kavomaleas and operated by Dynacom Tankers, was hit near Kumzar, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO). The crew abandoned ship and was safely recovered by a passing tug. As of the latest reports, the vessel remains adrift and the fire has not been extinguished. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has claimed it struck two "non-compliant" tankers attempting to transit the strait, though the origin of the projectile that hit the Kavomaleas has not been independently verified. The incident comes days after the US military said it had destroyed a number of Iranian minelayers in the same waters, and follows a string of tanker strikes in the strait since the current US-Iran conflict escalated. It shows commercial shipping still faces direct risk in the Strait of Hormuz even after US strikes aimed at securing the waterway, a chokepoint carrying a large share of the world's seaborne oil trade.