Kuwaiti tanker Kaifan hit near Strait of Hormuz, crew injured
The Kuwait-flagged tanker KAIFAN (IMO 9656046) was struck near Oman, leaving two crew members injured and forcing preparations to abandon ship
A Kuwait-flagged oil and chemical tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile near the Strait of Hormuz, injuring two crew members and leaving the vessel without engine power as fire spread close to its fuel tanks.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency, or UKMTO, confirmed the incident on Monday, July 20, after receiving multiple reports from a tanker broadcasting an emergency message over VHF Channel 16.
The attack occurred about eight nautical miles northeast of Limah, Oman, close to the eastern entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. Authorities were investigating the incident, UKMTO said.
Recording identifies Kuwait-flagged tanker
An exclusive recording of radio communications between vessels, provided to Xinhua by a crew member, identified the ship as KAIFAN (IMO 9656046), a Kuwait-flagged tanker carrying oil and chemicals.
The recording indicated that the projectile struck the port-side poop deck, an area at the stern of the vessel close to its bunker fuel tanks. Thick smoke was reported coming from both the damaged section and the fuel-tank vents.
Two crew members sustained minor injuries in the attack, according to the recording.
The crew reported that a bunker tank had caught fire and that the ship’s main engine was no longer operational. They attempted to cool the affected tank but were unable to bring its temperature under control.
Crew prepares lifeboats
With smoke continuing to pour from the vessel, the crew prepared the lifeboats and stood ready to abandon ship should conditions deteriorate.
A crew member said during the radio exchange that he believed the vessel had been struck by a missile because the impact had torn a large hole in the hull. The cause of the damage, however, had not been independently confirmed.
A subsequent UKMTO update reported that the crew had abandoned the tanker and boarded a lifeboat.
The attack came amid a sharp decline in commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz as escalating US-Iran hostilities increased the danger to vessels using the strategic waterway. Shipping data showed that only four commodity vessels crossed the strait on Monday, with no very large crude carriers or liquefied natural gas tankers recorded.
The incident was one of several recent attacks on commercial vessels in and around the strait, deepening concerns over global energy supplies and the safety of crews travelling through one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.
