A tanker caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz following an attack. Trump insists: this waterway is operational

A fire broke out on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman following an attack. The vessel was struck by an “unidentified projectile,” according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

According to the agency, the incident occurred on Tuesday, August 25, but it has only just come to light. The fire on the vessel was subsequently extinguished, and all crew members are safe. The British monitoring center did not specify which tanker was attacked or under which flag it was sailing.

CNBC notes that the UKMTO reported the incident just a few hours after U.S. President Donald Trump described the Strait of Hormuz as “operational.” In an interview with conservative American journalist Glenn Beck on August 26, the U.S. president stated that the U.S. had “cleared the mines” in the waters of this waterway: “Yes, from time to time they launch drones, missiles, or something like that there, but it’s a very well-functioning strait. A lot of oil comes out of it,” Trump noted (as quoted by CBS News).

Meanwhile, the volume of ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has declined further this week and remains significantly below pre-war levels, according to CNBC: According to data from the monitoring company Kpler, only five confirmed transits through the Strait of Hormuz were recorded on Tuesday—compared with seven the previous day and pre-war traffic of more than 130 ships per day.

Brent crude is trading at $87 per barrel amid reports of an incident in the Strait of Hormuz, while U.S. WTI is trading at just over $81.

This article is being updated

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor