The United Arab Emirates Coast Guard rescued all 22 crew members from a cargo ship that caught fire in the Gulf of Oman, the UAE National Guard said Sunday. The rescue came as the US military reported disabling a cargo vessel in the same gulf and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said two oil tankers struck mines near the Strait of Hormuz. UAE authorities did not identify the vessel they assisted or say what caused the fire.
The Coast Guard dispatched a team after receiving a distress call from the crew. Rescuers located the ship, evacuated everyone aboard and administered first aid before handing the crew over to the authorities. The National Guard said all 22 were in stable condition. It did not disclose the extent of the damage to the ship.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said Sunday it had received a report that a tanker caught fire on Saturday about eight nautical miles northwest of Khasab, Oman, and that its crew had been evacuated. The British maritime monitor did not name the tanker. It was unclear whether that report and the UAE rescue referred to the same vessel.
CENTCOM identifies target ship
In a statement on Saturday’s US operation, Central Command identified its target as the St Kitts and Nevis-flagged cargo ship M/V Huda. It said the ship was trying to leave regional waters after visiting an Iranian port and ignored repeated warnings. A US aircraft struck the stern after the military told the crew to “abandon targeted spaces,” the command said. Neither government linked the Huda to the crew rescued by the UAE.
Central Command said US forces had redirected 147 commercial vessels that complied with orders and disabled five merchant ships that refused to comply since July. The US has enforced a naval blockade on Iranian ports, while Tehran has sought to control which ships can pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said early Sunday that one oil tanker had struck mines east of the strait and a second had hit mines while crossing it. In a statement carried by Sepah News, the navy said both ships switched off navigation and GPS systems and were burning after the explosions. It described their route as “unauthorized.” The navy did not name either tanker, and its account could not be independently verified.
The strait, between Iran and Oman, connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Before the war, an average of 20.9 million barrels of oil a day passed through it in the first half of 2025, equivalent to about one-fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Saturday that Doha was continuing to mediate between Washington and Tehran. A proposal under discussion calls for Washington to lift its blockade of Iranian ports, release frozen assets and approve a route through the strait backed by Tehran, after which the waterway would reopen, Reuters reported.