Tanker and container ship report attacks as Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again

AI ILLUSTRATION

A tanker off the coast of Oman reports coming under fire from two Iranian gunboats and a container ship has been hit by a projectile, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre says

Iran's military says it has again closed the Strait of Hormuz, after reopening the key shipping route on Friday, in response to the US maintaining its blockade on Iranian ports

Data from tracking site MarineTraffic shows some tankers crossing the waterway earlier on Saturday - here's how the situation has evolved over the last 24 hours

It's hard to keep up with what's really happening in the Strait of Hormuz, writes our correspondent, and this casts doubt on Trump's claim of imminent deal

Elsewhere, French President Emmanuel Macron says a French solider was killed in Lebanon while taking part in a peacekeeping mission - in a statement, Unifil says one of its patrols "came under small arms fire from non-state-actors

Two vessels turn back as IRGC denies access to Strait

As the Strait of Hormuz started reopening, some vessels were forced to change their route.

Two Indian-flagged vessels, the cargo ship JAG ARNAV and the oil tanker SANMAR HERALD, both received orders to change their travel routes as they were denied access to the Strait of Hormuz by IRGC officials.

Tracking data from MarineTraffic shows the vessels slowing down and making a U-turn after passing Larak Island along the agreed route.

The SANMAR HERALD also shows a draught of 21m, which indicates that the tanker is navigating with a full cargo of oil, likely from Iraq based on recent tracking data.

It is not yet clear whether the SANMAR HERALD is the same tanker that came under fire as reported by the UKMTO.

US says 23 ships have been turned back since blockade started

US Central Command (CentCom) says it has forced 23 ships to turn around near the Strait of Hormuz since a naval blockade of Iranian ports was established.

In a post on X, CentCom says American forces are still enforcing the blockade, which began on 13 April.

Iran has said that it has closed the strait again in response to the continued blockade.