![Commercial vessels and oil tankers sit anchored in the waters off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran's Hormozgan Province on September 9, 2026. [Fatemeh Bahrami - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/AA-20260909-42424031-42424014-COMMERCIAL_VESSELS_REMAIN_ANCHORED_OFF_BANDAR_ABBAS_FOLLOWING_IRANS_CLOSURE_OF_STRAIT_OF_HORMUZ.jpg?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
A supertanker carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude oil exploded and caught fire after striking a naval mine south of the Strait of Hormuz, the Navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Tuesday, Anadolu reports.
In a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB, the navy said the vessel was committing violations and that it had switched off all its radar and navigation systems.
OPINION: Trump can strike Iran again. He cannot bomb Hormuz open
The tanker ignored warnings from the IRGC Navy and was trying to leave the strait through an “unauthorized southern route” when it struck the mine, according to the statement.
The navy did not identify the vessel or provide details about its flag, crew, possible casualties, or the extent of the damage.
“Vessel owners and crews in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman are responsible for transiting unauthorized routes,” it said.
“Any movement that disregards the security of this strait will be dealt with decisively,” it added.
READ: Iran’s IRGC says 2nd supertanker hits naval mine in Strait of Hormuz
Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.
Spotted an error on this page? Let us know
Latest news
See all
