Abu Dhabi, Nov 8 (IANS) A cargo ship caught fire in the Sea of Oman, with all 22 crew members on board rescued by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Coast Guard, the Emirates News Agency reported Sunday.
The crew members, who were of Arab nationality, were in stable condition after receiving first aid, the report said, citing the UAE National Guard.
Those rescued were handed over to the relevant authorities, it added.
The rescue operation was launched immediately after the UAE Coast Guard received a distress call from the ship reporting a fire on board.
The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage to the vessel were not disclosed, the report said.
The navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said early Sunday two “violating” oil tankers attempting to pass through an “unauthorised” route in the Strait of Hormuz caught fire after hitting naval mines.
In a statement on the IRGC’s official news outlet Sepah News, the navy said that one tanker hit mines east of the strait and the other while crossing the waterway.
Both vessels had turned off navigation and GPS systems and were burning following the explosions, it added.
The IRGC warned that any vessel cooperating with the “aggressive” US Army and entering the “unauthorised” region in the strait in defiance of Iranian regulations would “definitely” hit naval mines, Xinhua news agency reported.
Meanwhile, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on social media platform X that its forces had disabled a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman after its civilian crew “ignored repeated warnings and attempted to violate the naval blockade against Iran multiple times.”
“A US military aircraft fired precision munitions at the stern of St. Kitts-flagged M/V Huda, disabling the ship after CENTCOM forces directed the crew to abandon targeted spaces. The cargo vessel tried to depart regional waters after visiting an Iranian port,” it added.
–IANS
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