Tanker hit off Saudi’s Gulf coast, crew evacuated

A tanker was struck by an “unknown projectile” off Saudi Arabia’s Gulf coast, forcing the evacuation of its crew, a maritime monitoring agency said on Saturday.

The vessel was hit on Friday, 68 nautical miles off the coast of Jubail, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said, adding that “all crew are reported safe”.

Ships have regularly come under Iranian fire during the Middle East war, as Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz – the only exit route for oil and gas exports via the Gulf sea.

Vanguard, another maritime security agency, identified the ship as the Marshall Islands-flagged Safeen Principal crude oil tanker, saying it lost power and suffered an engine-room fire.

UKMTO later said that also on Friday, a ship in the same area was attacked by a rocket-propelled grenade, with the crew reported safe.

About one-fifth of global oil exports passed through Hormuz before the war began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb 28. Oil prices have soared during the war.