FILE: Northern tip of Oman on the Strait of Hormuz, photographed from the International Space Station on April 23, 2020. Geographic context, not the reported gas-carrier incident. Photo: NASA; editorial reuse under NASA media guidelines. Cropped and resized.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Friday that a gas carrier struck a naval mine and suffered an explosion in the eastern Strait of Hormuz after attempting to use a route that Iranian forces described as unauthorized and dangerous.
The account has not been independently verified. The IRGC statement did not identify the vessel, its owner or flag, or provide information about its crew.
In a statement published November 13, the IRGC Navy’s public-relations office said the ship had attempted the passage several hours earlier despite repeated warnings from its Strait of Hormuz traffic-control center.
The statement said the vessel was trying to cross through a southern route in the eastern part of the strait when it hit a mine. It described a powerful explosion but did not provide a verified assessment of the ship’s condition.
Iranian account leaves key details unresolved
The IRGC also claimed the ship had relied on support from U.S. fighter aircraft. That assertion has not been independently verified.
The statement described the vessel as carrying liquefied gas without specifying whether the cargo was liquefied natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas. It supplied no ship name or precise coordinates that would allow the account to be matched to a particular vessel.
The IRGC warned that other vessels using routes it considers unauthorized could face the same outcome. Its descriptions of permitted and prohibited routes are Iranian claims, not an independently established assessment of navigational rights or conditions.
Separate claim from earlier oil-tanker reports
Friday’s statement referred to earlier oil tankers but described a gas carrier. Without a vessel name or other identifying details, the account cannot be independently matched to or distinguished from earlier incident reports.
It followed earlier Iranian claims involving oil tankers, which also required independent verification.
The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
JBizNews Desk | Strait of Hormuz
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