OMAN Aug 26, 2026 – A tanker was hit by an unidentified projectile in the Strait of Hormuz off Khasab, Oman, according to a United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) warning issued early Thursday. The strike caused a fire that crews later extinguished. All personnel were accounted for and no pollution was reported.
UKMTO Warning 121-26 said local authorities reported the incident. The agency received the initial account on August 25 at 1730 UTC and published the advisory on August 27. Investigators have not identified the vessel by name in the official notice, though some maritime risk trackers described it as a Kuwaiti tanker operating in the southern corridor. No group has claimed responsibility.
Vessels in the area were advised to transit with caution and report suspicious activity.
The waterway sits between Iran and Oman’s Musandam Peninsula. Khasab lies on the Omani side of the narrow passage that links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. Before the 2026 conflict, the strait carried roughly one-fifth of global seaborne oil and a large share of LNG shipments. Traffic has since collapsed to a small fraction of pre-crisis levels as war-risk insurance, mines, and repeated attacks have kept most commercial operators away.
The latest strike follows a string of similar attacks on commercial ships using the southern, Omani-adjacent lane.
On August 24, the Liberia-flagged Aframax Metro Venetian, a Greek-managed product tanker carrying jet fuel, was struck by an unknown projectile about 9 nautical miles northeast of Ash Shishah, Oman. The hit damaged the engine room and disabled the ship. The crew was unharmed and no spill was reported. The vessel later reached Fujairah.
Overnight on August 17–18, the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Minoan Dignity was struck in the engine room while outbound on the southern corridor. The chief engineer was killed. Omani coast-guard units assisted the remaining crew. That ship had previously called at Iran’s Bandar Imam Khomeini. It was the second vessel under the same Greek commercial management hit that month.
Many of the documented projectile strikes since early July have clustered along the U.S.-backed southern route rather than the northern lane closer to Iran.
Brent crude traded near $87 a barrel in recent sessions after sliding on reports that Iran and Oman were discussing a temporary joint navigational corridor and mine-clearance work. Those talks have not restored regular traffic. Commercial transits remain in the single digits on many days, versus roughly 85 vessels a day before the crisis. Hundreds of ships have been holding off berth.
The new UKMTO notice arrived as those diplomatic contacts continued and as Qatar’s prime minister was expected in Tehran. Tehran has said the strait remains closed pending terms it considers acceptable; Washington has at times declared mines cleared in international waters, a claim that has not been independently verified in full.
Authorities said they are investigating the latest projectile. Until responsibility and the exact vessel identity are confirmed, the incident adds another data point to a months-long campaign that has made routine commercial transit through Hormuz exceptionally hazardous.
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