Norwegian tanker attacked off coast of Oman: company

A Norwegian tanker was hit by an explosion caused by an unidentified device off the Omani coast early Tuesday, a crisis response company said.

MTI Network said in a statement that shipping company Stolt Tankers reported that at approximately 00:40 am local time (2000 GMT Monday) "its tanker vessel Stolt Magnesium while on passage in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman suffered from an explosion of an unidentified external device".

The explosion triggered a fire in the ship's engine room, but an MTI Network spokesman added that the crew "fortunately are all safe and accounted for".

The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency also reported that a tanker had reported "being hit by an unknown projectile on the starboard side engine room" 40 nautical miles northeast of Qalhat, Oman.

Earlier on Tuesday the United Arab Emirates said that Iran attacked two ships in the Strait of Hormuz with missiles, killing one crew member and wounding eight.

The strikes came after the United States launched a fresh salvo of strikes against Tehran, marking a new escalation in the resumption of hostilities in the Middle East war.

The Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route through which one fifth of the world's oil passed before the war broke out in February, is a major point of contention between the United States and Iran.

Trump vowed on Monday to charge all cargo shipped through the waterway to pay for keeping it open, and to reinstate a blockade lifted last month on Iranian ships.