Oman reports that two sailors are missing following a tanker attack in the Strait of Hormuz.

Following an attack on an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, Oman reports that 23 people have been rescued and two seamen are still missing. The Panamanian-flagged El Gaia was being towed to an Omani port on Tuesday after a fire started in its engine room, according to Oman’s Maritime Security Center. The ship was targeted 1.3 nautical miles (2.4 km) north of the Musandam peninsula.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported on Monday that the tanker struck naval explosives and caught fire while travelling along what they called a dangerous and restricted path. Meanwhile, the UK Maritime Trade Operations center reported that a ship that was hit by an unidentified projectile while crossing the Strait of Hormuz in the early hours of Sunday developed a fire. Iran made a similar accusation earlier this month regarding an incident on a Saudi-owned oil supertanker in the vital waterway that resulted in the deaths of two Filipino sailors.

According to the Revolutionary Guards, the ship Sidr struck a naval mine and caught fire. However, marine security companies stated that it was struck by missiles north of Musandam, and Saudi authorities claimed that Iran was the target.

Since the US and Israel began their war with Iran at the end of February, at least 22 seafarers have died in 79 documented incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and around the Middle East, according to the International Maritime Organization. A US naval blockade of Iranian ports and Iranian missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels have effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, which typically handles a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.

A preliminary deal between the US and Iran to terminate the conflict and reopen the strait was struck in June, but it fell apart a few weeks later when the US maintained its blockade and Iranian shipping strikes resumed.

Since the US and Israel began their war with Iran at the end of February, at least 22 seafarers have died in 79 documented incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and around the Middle East, according to the International Maritime Organization. A US naval blockade of Iranian ports and Iranian missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels have effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, which typically handles a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.

A preliminary deal between the US and Iran to terminate the conflict and reopen the strait was struck in June, but it fell apart a few weeks later when the US maintained its blockade and Iranian shipping strikes resumed.

A preliminary deal between the US and Iran to terminate the conflict and reopen the strait was struck in June, but it fell apart a few weeks later when the US maintained its blockade and Iranian shipping strikes resumed. Iran has targeted ships utilising a southern route through Omani waters that avoids its preferred route through Iranian waters and has maintained that it will not cede any degree of sovereignty over the waterway.