Oman evacuates 25 crew from RITI tanker in Strait of Hormuz

On Friday, Oman's Maritime Security Centre evacuated 25 sailors from the RITI, a Panama-flagged crude oil tanker on fire in the Strait of Hormuz. The country's navy carried out the evacuation. All crew received medical treatment, though the Maritime Security Centre did not release their nationalities or condition. The cause of the fire was not confirmed.

The rescue came as Iran's Revolutionary Guard reported a separate series of tanker stoppages. On October 30 and 31, the IRGC said three tankers had been halted on an unauthorised southern route through the strait and then claimed a fourth tanker, carrying more than two million barrels of crude, struck a mine. US Central Command pushed back on the mine claims, saying American forces had cleared the primary transit routes.

It was unclear whether the RITI was one of the tankers the IRGC described. Neither rescue authorities nor independent reports had established a connection.

The incidents came after a sharp escalation at the chokepoint in the preceding days. Earlier that week, three tankers caught fire after striking mines on an unauthorised southern route, and the day before the RITI fire, a limpet mine disabled a tanker near Khasab, Oman.