China confirms attack on tanker with Chinese crew in Strait of Hormuz; no casualties reported
China’s foreign ministry confirmed on Friday (May 8) that an oil products tanker carrying Chinese crew was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, voicing deep concern over the safety of vessels amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. There are Chinese nationals aboard the vessel, but no crew casualties have been reported so far, spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular briefing.
Chinese media reported on Thursday that a Chinese-owned oil products tanker marked “China owner & crew” was attacked near the strait on Monday. The incident took place ahead of a meeting in Beijing on Wednesday between China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi, during which they discussed reopening the strait.
The ship has not been officially identified. Maritime security sources said the damaged vessel was believed to be the Marshall Islands-flagged oil products and chemical tanker JV Innovation, which reported a fire on deck to nearby ships on Monday. The incident occurred off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in the Gulf, near Mina Saqr.
China has remained a major buyer of Iranian oil since the outbreak of the Iran war, with its imports from Iran largely unaffected in March. Meanwhile, the conflict between the United States and Iran has left hundreds of ships and around 20,000 seafarers stranded inside the Gulf, and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted by renewed attacks on vessels this week.
The United States and Iran exchanged fire again on Thursday as Washington awaited Tehran’s response to a U.S. proposal aimed at halting the fighting while leaving contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme, unresolved for now.