CENTCOM has denied the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' claim that an oil tanker named Algaya hit a mine in the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM stated, "The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claims that a Panama-flagged oil tanker recently struck a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz. This is false. The truth is that the Panama-flagged oil tanker named Algaya was struck by an Iranian missile last month and rendered inoperable. This weekend, Iran once again struck the tanker, which was stationary off the coast of Oman, with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The tanker is currently being towed by a regional partner. This baseless claim by the Revolutionary Guard is yet another example of the lies and intimidation tactics they resort to while attempting to obstruct commercial vessels in the strait."
Claims of a fire on the tanker
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had stated that the tanker hit a mine in a restricted zone south of the Strait of Hormuz and reported that a fire had broken out on the vessel. The Revolutionary Guard stated that efforts to bring the fire under control were unsuccessful and that the entire ship was engulfed in flames. Reminding that warnings had been issued regarding the danger of using the route in question, the Revolutionary Guard reiterated that control of the Strait of Hormuz remains under their supervision.
On the other hand, although the Revolutionary Guard claimed that the Algaya was in the supertanker class with a capacity to carry 2 to 3 million barrels of crude oil, it turned out that the tanker was of medium size.
News Source: 12punto
