Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said a Shuttle-type oil tanker carrying 750,000 barrels of crude oil exploded and caught fire after striking a sea mine while attempting to cross an unauthorized route.
In a statement released on Sunday night, the IRGC Navy’s Public Relations Department said the incident occurred afternoon on Sunday, after the tanker ignored the Navy’s warnings and alerts and attempted to navigate the prohibited route.
The supertanker, capable of carrying around 2 million barrels of oil, was attempting to transit the strategic waterway with its navigation system switched off, the statement read.
The oil tanker is the third vessel to strike naval mines along the prohibited route in the Strait of Hormuz since Saturday, it added.
The IRGC Navy, meanwhile, renewed its warning that vessels switching off their navigation systems while passing through the waterway would be classified as hostile vessels.
Source: Al-Manar English Website