Strait of Hormuz: Two oil tankers apparently caught fire

Strait of Hormuz Two oil tankers apparently caught fire As of: November 5th, 2026 • 12:47 p.m

Tehran has largely blocked the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the Iran War. But oil tankers repeatedly risk passage through the strait. Now, according to Iran, two ships have caught fire.

According to Iranian sources, two oil tankers caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz. They tried to cross the strait on “unauthorized routes”. A tug that tried to help one of the tankers also caught fire.

One of the tankers hit a sea mine while trying to "cross the illegal passage south of the Strait of Hormuz," the Revolutionary Guard said, according to the Fars news agency.

The second tanker was brought to a standstill “by a massive fire” when leaving the eastern part of the strait. The Revolutionary Guard later announced that a ship had also hit a sea mine east of the Strait of Hormuz.

The tanker had its identification and navigation systems switched off, as did other tankers that, according to Iranian sources, had hit sea mines and caught fire in the past few days. The Iranian information cannot yet be independently verified.

The US has apparently attacked the Iranian island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz. more

Meanwhile, the British military said that a tanker was hit by two missiles off the coast of Qatar in the Persian Gulf. There is currently no information about the crew's situation. The attack took place almost 100 kilometers north of the Qatari city of Madinat ash-Shamal. Qatar is located about 500 kilometers from the Strait of Hormuz.

Since the Iran war began at the end of February, Tehran has largely blocked the strait, which is important for global trade in oil and gas, and regularly attacks ships that try to pass through it without authorization. In return, the USA imposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

This topic in the program: tagesschau24 | News | November 5, 2026 | 11:00 a.m