Crew member dies aboard an empty Greek-managed tanker in the Gulf as Trump plays down US strikes near Qeshm
A missile probably hit the Velos Sapphire on its way to Bahrain, while Iran says more tankers are burning in the Strait of Hormuz.
A crew member was killed in an explosion on board the oil tanker Velos Sapphire in the Gulf on Thursday, its Greek manager Velos Tankers said on Friday. The Marshall Islands-flagged ship was sailing empty towards Bahrain. According to Reuters and AFP, quoted by Arab News, a missile attack was the probable cause. The crew put out the fire, nobody else was hurt and there was no pollution. The vessel was taken to Khalifa Bin Salman port in Bahrain for an investigation.
It is not known who carried out the attack. Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed on Thursday that five tankers and a tug had struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz, which independent maritime bodies did not confirm, VRT NWS reports. On Friday the Guards reported two more tankers on fire. The British agency UKMTO also received a report of an explosion on another tanker off Oman, whose crew was unharmed, according to Arab News.
After a speech at a NASA site in Florida on Friday, President Donald Trump said the US controls the Strait of Hormuz and could be an occupying power in Iran, Turkish news agency Anadolu reports. Asked about US strikes near Qeshm Island, he acknowledged limited operations that he described as minor, saying an Iranian air defence installation had been destroyed within minutes. Iran disputes that Washington controls the strait.