Oman rescued 25 crew members from a burning crude oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, October 30, 2026, as vessels continued to face attacks in the besieged waterway, Al Jazeera reported.
Omani Evacuation of the RITI Merchant Ship
The Omani Maritime Security Centre stated on Friday that it evacuated 25 people on board the RITI merchant ship. Oman noted that the vessel was flying the Panamanian flag, while tracking website MarineTraffic identified it as a crude oil tanker.
The incident unfolded as Iran reported that four oil tankers attempting to use unauthorized routes across the Strait of Hormuz had been halted. It remained unclear whether the evacuated RITI vessel was one of the tankers referenced by Iranian maritime authorities.
Iran Claims Vessels Struck Mines on Unauthorized Routes
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated on Friday that all four halted vessels were carrying oil. According to the IRGC, the ships were stopped following incidents or after hitting mines.
Two offending oil tankers—one in the eastern part and another in the western part of the Strait of Hormuz—encountered incidents while attempting to pass through unauthorized routes and were brought to a halt in the waters south of the strait, the IRGC said. Hours later, the IRGC announced that two additional tankers, each carrying more than two million barrels of oil, exploded and caught fire after hitting mines along an unauthorized route.
Separately, Iran’s state broadcaster cited the Revolutionary Guard to report that three oil tankers had exploded and caught fire over the preceding 24 hours while attempting to transit an unauthorized route, according to Nine.com.au. That state report did not identify the tankers or provide casualty details, and The Associated Press could not immediately confirm it.
Iran’s Navy reported on Friday that it struck and destroyed an unmanned enemy craft to the east of the strait. Tehran has repeatedly warned vessels against passing through the waterway without its permission, asserting control over much of the passage since the United States and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28, 2026.
Conflicting Military Accounts and Regional Shipping Impact
The IRGC Navy claimed that the intercepted tankers had turned off their tracking and navigation systems and ignored multiple radio warnings, holding the United States responsible for the interception and subsequent fires, as reported by IranWire. Maritime data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence noted that tankers have continued to transport oil through the strait under U.S. military protection despite the recent upsurge in attacks, according to Nine.com.au.
The U.S. military has denied the naval mine claims. On Friday, United States Central Command chief Brad Cooper stated that the Strait of Hormuz’s internationally recognized primary transit routes had been successfully cleared of Iranian sea mines, Al Jazeera reported.
Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz is operating at about 70 percent below pre-war levels, according to figures released Friday by the UK’s Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency.
