(Bloomberg) — A small oil tanker believed to be under U.S. sanctions for helping Iran export fuel was targeted off the northern coast of Oman, the first naval attack since war broke out in the Middle East over the weekend.
Oman’s maritime security said the tanker Skylight was targeted north of Khasab port, according to a post on X. There are two vessels named Skylight, but only one appears off the coast of Oman. The ship was sanctioned by the US last year for “facilitating Iranian oil exports”.
The vessel’s crew of 20 were evacuated and four people were injured, Oman said.
It was unclear who targeted the Skylight off the Oman coast. US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The reported strike on what could be a Dark Fleet vessel comes as ships have largely avoided the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran and the northern coast of Oman, since the Middle East war began at the weekend.
Several ships reported on Saturday that they had heard radio transmissions, believed to be from the Iranian navy, announcing that transit through the waterway was prohibited. Tehran has threatened US vessels but has not made a formal statement regarding the status of the waterway or announced its closure. Although traffic has fallen sharply, vessels still pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Skylight itself is relatively small, weighing in at just over 11,000 tonnes deadweight. The largest oil tankers have a carrying capacity of more than 300,000 tons.
Maritime database Equasis says it is marked by the Republic of Palau as medium risk on a “blacklist” published by the Paris Memorandum on Port State Inspection, which oversees ship inspections and promotes security.
–With help from Paul Burkhardt.
(Update with request for comment, Hormuz operation.)
More such stories are available at bloomberg.com
