Strait of Hormuz Erupts Again: LNG Tanker Engulfed in Flames After Missile Strike

A tanker carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) was reported to be heavily ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman, after being struck by a missile projectile on Tuesday (7/7/2026). The deadly incident early this week is the latest attack targeting commercial shipping fleets in the world’s most critical waterway.

Citing a report from Al Jazeera, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) confirmed that the tanker was attacked near the Limah area of Oman while attempting to sail south towards the Gulf of Oman. The projectile reportedly hit the port side of the ship’s hull, but authorities confirmed there were no reports of casualties or fatal environmental damage resulting from the incident.

Two United States officials, speaking anonymously to the media outlet Axios, revealed that the Iranian military had fired at least two missiles at commercial vessels transiting the strait. One official added that a second ship was also hit by a missile, with both vessels suffering very significant damage from the sudden attack.

Iranian state television reported that the LNG tanker was attacked after ignoring a series of navigational warnings, although Tehran did not directly claim responsibility for the aerial strike. Some suspect Tehran is deliberately targeting ships using alternative routes near the Omani coast, as Iran has repeatedly asserted that only official routes approved by them are guaranteed safe for passage.

“The area near Oman is most likely filled with mines,” Hossein Royvaran, a Tehran-based political analyst, told Al Jazeera. “There is a possibility that these ships were heading towards a location where an Iranian team was clearing mines, and the movement of these ships may have threatened the safety of that team,” Royvaran added, explaining the potential cause of the incident.

The Strait of Hormuz is a vital global energy logistics route, with one-fifth of the world’s total oil and LNG supply depending on this passage before the outbreak of the US-Israel war against Iran at the end of last February. Escalation in the strait is predicted to intensify as peace talks between Iran and the US to permanently end the war are currently postponed. The delay was necessary until the funeral proceedings for former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the war on 28 February, are completed. Local authorities flew Khamenei’s body to the Shiite seminary city of Qom on Tuesday for final respects from mourners.