Fars: The sound of the explosion in the Strait of Hormuz was caused by oil tankers hitting sea mines

Fars: The sound of the explosion in the Strait of Hormuz was caused by oil tankers hitting sea mines

Iranian media reported that an explosion was heard in the Strait of Hormuz in the early hours of Friday morning.

Fars News Agency reported that "a few minutes ago, a heavy explosion occurred in the southern passage of the Strait of Hormuz, caused by oil tankers hitting mines scattered in the sea."

It appears that in recent nights, attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz have increased again.

It was also reported yesterday that an oil tanker was hit by several projectiles in waters north of Qatar, a few hundred kilometers from the Strait of Hormuz.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations stated that this incident, considered a rare surface attack in the deep waters of the Persian Gulf, occurred 94 km from "Madinat ash-Shamal" and casualties were also reported.

Maritime intelligence firm "Vanguard" identified the ship as the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged oil and chemical tanker "Acers". On Saturday, it was reported that the ship is heading towards the Strait of Hormuz.

Since the beginning of the confrontation between the United States and Israel with Iran in February, commercial ships in this region have frequently been targets of surface attacks. According to statistics from the UN-affiliated International Maritime Organization, at least 24 sailors have lost their lives in 93 confirmed incidents.

The International Maritime Organization announced that the last fatal accident occurred on September 9, when two sailors were killed during a surface attack on the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker Algaiya in the Strait of Hormuz, just north of Oman's Musandam Peninsula.

This is also the first reported surface attack on a vessel in such a geographical location (west of the Strait of Hormuz) since that date, according to Martin Kelly, head of advisory at risk group Ayawas. According to analysts at shipping data firm Kpler, over the past two weeks, average crude oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz stood at 12 million barrels per day, which is about 80% of the pre-war level.