One Indian sailor killed, six wounded as Iranian missiles strike oil tankers in Strait of Hormuz

Representational image of an oil tanker in the distance, in the Strait of Hormuz

| Photo Credit: Reuters

One Indian ‌crew member was killed and eight others were wounded when two Emirati ​oil tankers were struck by Iranian cruise missiles in the Strait ⁠of Hormuz, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday (July 14, 2026), in the latest escalation in the strategic waterway.

The ministry said the tankers, the Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, were targeted in ‌the southern lane of the strait while in Omani territorial waters. The dead crew member was aboard the Mombasa, it said.

Of the eight ‌wounded, four were seriously injured. Six of the wounded were Indian nationals and ‌two ⁠were Ukrainian nationals, the ministry said.

The Ministry of Defence announces that the national tankers Mombasa and Al Bahiyah were targeted by two Iranian cruise missiles while transiting the southern shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz, within Omani territorial waters.

The attack resulted in the death of one Indian… pic.twitter.com/i1HrXY0fKP

— وزارة الدفاع |MOD UAE (@modgovae) July 13, 2026

The attack caused material damage to ⁠both tankers after fires broke out on board. The ministry said the fires had been brought under control.

It condemned what it called a “blatant attack” and said the UAE retained “its full right to respond to ​this escalation”.

The ministry added that the ‌UAE remained fully prepared to deal with any threats and was taking all necessary measures to respond firmly to any attempts to undermine the country’s security and stability.

UKMTO report

Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Tuesday that a ‌tanker had been hit by an unknown projectile while travelling 40 nautical ​miles northeast of Oman’s Qalhat.

UKMTO said the tanker’s master reported that the projectile struck the starboard-side engine room and that all crew were safe.

Reuters ⁠could not immediately verify whether the UKMTO report referred to the same incident as the one reported by the UAE’s Ministry of Defence. Iran has not commented on ‌the latest attacks.

The latest incidents in the waterway come after weeks of heightened tensions since the war broke out on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran.

On Monday, President Donald Trump said the U.S. was reinstating its blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf and would ensure the Strait of Hormuz stays open — for a fee — while warning that U.S. forces would hit Iran ‌again “very hard” in the coming hours after the two sides exchanged missile and drone attacks.

Iran’s top ​joint military command said the U.S. had no role in determining the future of the waterway and would not be allowed to intervene. The ⁠conflict has destabilised the Gulf and spread across the region, with Iran attacking U.S. bases ⁠in multiple countries. It has also thrown into question an interim U.S.-Iranian agreement signed last month to reopen the strait and halt hostilities.

Before the ‌conflict began in February, around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas traffic passed through Hormuz daily, delivering more than 15 million barrels of fuel ​to global markets worth at least $1.2 billion.

Published - July 14, 2026 05:45 am IST