Sailor killed in Gulf as Iran says tankers on fire

Tehran A seafarer on a Greek-owned oil tanker was killed in an apparent missile attack in the Gulf, its owner said on Friday (November 6, 2026), after Tehran said ships were on fire after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Velos Sapphire was sailing to Bahrain empty of cargo when the attack happened on Thursday (November 5, 2026), Velos Tankers said in a statement carried by the Greek news agency ANA.

The Athens-based company said the explosion was likely caused by an unidentified projectile that struck the vessel’s port quarter, sparking a fire. On Thursday (November 5, 2026), Iranian media reported that five oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

And in a statement carried by state media on Friday (November 6, 2026), Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said two more oil tankers were on fire in the strategic gateway to the energy-rich Gulf.