Tehran, Nov 14 (IANS) The Navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday that two “violating” oil tankers caught fire earlier in the day after hitting naval mines east of the Strait of Hormuz.
The vessels, which had turned off their navigation, identification and tracking systems, were transiting the “unsafe and forbidden” region east of the strait in disregard of the warnings, the Navy said in statements on the IRGC’s website.
One of the vessels was brought to a halt following the blast, it said, warning that suffering explosions and catching fire is the fate awaiting those “violating” vessels seeking passage through the “forbidden” regions in the waterway, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Friday night, the Navy of Iran’s IRGC also reported two “violating” oil tankers exploded and caught fire earlier in the day after hitting naval mines while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz through an “unauthorised” route.
In a statement on the IRGC’s official news outlet Sepah News Friday night (local time), the Navy identified one vessel as a supertanker and said both had turned off their radar and navigation systems.
It warned shipowners and shipping companies that the same fate awaits those vessels trying to pass through the strait without coordination with its traffic-control centre and in disregard of Iranian regulations.
Earlier on Thursday, too, the Iranian Army said two “violating” oil tankers caught fire after entering the “forbidden” region east of the Strait of Hormuz and hitting naval mines.
The vessels had turned off their radar systems, entered the “forbidden and unsafe” region in disregard of warnings, the Army said in a statement.
The Navy of Iran’s IRGC announced that two “violating” supertankers carrying more than four million barrels of oil were disabled by explosions while crossing the strait on Wednesday night.
–IANS
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