IRGC Says Gas Tanker Exploded After Hitting Mine in Hormuz
Key Facts
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Friday, November 13, that a liquefied petroleum gas tanker struck a naval mine and exploded while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Associated Press. The account concerned one tanker, and the agency’s report gave no details about its name or size. The Guard said the vessel was transiting the eastern part of the strait when the explosion occurred. It added that the tanker had ignored repeated warnings while passing through. The agency cautioned that it could not independently verify the claim, leaving the cause of the explosion and the circumstances surrounding it attributed to the Guard’s account.
Reuters carried a separate account from the Revolutionary Guard’s navy, saying a tanker carrying liquefied natural gas struck a naval mine and exploded Friday in the strait. The Guard described the route taken by the tanker as unauthorized and dangerous. No details about the tanker were immediately available, according to the report. The cargo was identified differently in the Associated Press account, which said liquefied petroleum gas, and the Reuters account, which said liquefied natural gas. In both cases, the published information came from the Revolutionary Guard, without identifying details about the vessel.
Friday’s incident follows earlier Iranian reports of events in the waterway. Iranian media reported Thursday, November 12, that 4 oil tankers had been hit by explosions, according to a Reuters report. The outlets said the vessels had ignored warnings and entered areas Iran considers restricted. These reports concerned the previous day and were separate from Friday’s announcement about the gas tanker. Internal EL7 data in a story dated November 11 also cited the Revolutionary Guard as saying 3 tankers had caught fire in Hormuz, in a separate earlier incident.
The repeated reports underscore the sensitivity of passage through the strait for global energy flows. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated that average oil flows through Hormuz reached 20.9 million barrels per day in the first half of 2025. Those volumes represented about 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption and a quarter of seaborne oil trade over the same period. That makes maritime security in the strait an important focus for monitoring seaborne oil supplies. The Associated Press said Iran had targeted oil tankers in the strait since the start of the air war in February, describing the passage as vital to international oil shipments.
Maritime monitoring data through November 8 showed the number of reported attacks in the latest monitoring period falling to 2, from 4 in the previous period, according to a summary by the UKMTO Joint Maritime Information Center. The summary described a tanker explosion at the waterline on November 5 as the fifth attack off the coast of Musandam since November 1. Commercial traffic through the strait remained below 2025 levels, according to the summary. Independent tracking data showed daily transits ranging from single digits to the low teens, while data from U.S. maritime advisory and coordination services recorded an average of about 30 U.S.-escorted transits per day on November 5–7. These indicators place Friday’s announcement within a period of reported incidents and varying vessel traffic.
A Reuters report, meanwhile, said tanker traffic had increased and expectations of de-escalation were reflected in lower oil prices. That development coincided with continued reports of vessels being hit in the region, although the report did not link the price move solely to Friday’s incident. The report gave no specific price or amount of the decline. This market activity remains within the context of de-escalation expectations and a recovery in traffic cited by the report. The available information provided no further immediate details about the tanker the Guard said had exploded.
The UKMTO advised vessels to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity, as authorities continue investigating maritime incidents in the region. The guidance comes as commercial traffic through the strait remains below 2025 levels, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center summary. The summary links continued security reports with varying transit activity, including independent tracking data and data on U.S.-escorted transits. The announcement attributed to the Revolutionary Guard gave no timeline for an update on the tanker or details of the investigation’s outcome. The UKMTO guidance remains the stated measure for vessels while authorities continue their investigation.