It is the latest in a string of attacks on oil and gas tankers since the United States and Iran escalated strikes across the Middle East on July 7 over control of the key conduit for a fifth of global oil supplies before their war.
“Vanguard is aware that the Malta-flagged tanker Kavomaleas caught fire while transiting the Strait of Hormuz … at approximately 1924 UTC,” British maritime risk management group Vanguard said.
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The cause of the fire was unknown and the crew status was unconfirmed, it said in a statement, adding that regional maritime authorities were investigating.
The Panamax-sized tanker, managed by Dynacom Tankers Management, was set to load oil products in the Gulf this week, according to shipbroking fixtures and one trade source.
The Greek tanker operator could not be immediately reached for comment.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said the crew safely abandoned the vessel, now adrift and recovered by a tug boat, following its report that the vessel was on fire.
The fire has not been doused, but no environmental impact was reported, UKMTO said.
On Monday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards force said two oil tankers “exploded” and were immobilized after attempting to take what it called an unsafe southern route through the Strait of Hormuz. On Sunday, the Guards also pointed to two ships involved in an “accident” in the same area.
It was unclear if the two incidents were related.
(Reporting by Enas Alashray, Eman Abouhassira, Jonathan Saul, Trixie Yap and Nidhi Verma; additional reporting by Florence Tan; editing by Christian Schmollinger, Ros Russell and Clarence Fernandez)
