Oman's Maritime Security Center said on Tuesday that the Panama-flagged oil tanker EL GAIA was being towed to an Omani port after a fire broke out in its engine room following an attack in the Strait of Hormuz.
The tanker was about 103 nautical miles northeast of Musandam when it was attacked, the center said. An Omani naval vessel evacuated 23 crew members, while two remain missing.
Initially, Iran's IRGC claimed the tanker had caught fire after colliding with mines in the Hormuz. CENTCOM denied the report that a collision caused the explosion, instead stating that the ship had actually been struck by an Iranian missile last month and had recently been struck again by an Iranian drone.
"The IRGC's false claim is yet another example of their lies and intimidation attempts while they try to impede commercial vessels in the strait," CENTCOM wrote in a post on X/Twitter.
Reports of an attack on the El Gaia first emerged on Sunday, with the Indian Ministry of External Affairs releasing a statement condemning the attack and saying that of the 14 Indian crew aboard, 13 had been rescued, while search and rescue operations for the missing individual were ongoing.
"Our Embassy in Oman is closely monitoring the situation and proactively coordinating with the Omani authorities," the statement read.
Trump claimed all mines in Hormuz were destroyed
This comes weeks after US President Donald Trump announced that all mines in the Strait of Hormuz had been removed or destroyed.
"All mines have been removed and/or detonated from within the International Waters of the Strait of Hormuz," Trump wrote.