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Tanker Burns After Strike in Strait of Hormuz

Navig8 Messi
Unverified footage via social media

By The Maritime Executive 2026-11-08 15:37:23

On Saturday, at least two tankers were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, including one that caught fire. 

The first vessel was transiting about eight nautical miles off the coast of Khasab, on Oman's Musandam Peninsula, when it caught fire. Unverified videos purporting to show the blaze have circulated on social media, and appear to show a vigorous cargo fire burning amidships. 

The crewmembers were evacuated, and no injuries have been reported. Video footage shows at least two firefighting tugs on scene and working to combat the blaze. 

Open source intelligence analysts have tentatively identified the vessel as the Navig8 Messi, an Adnoc-chartered product tanker. The ship was hit once previously in August, repaired, and returned to the same trade lane. 

UKMTO received a second report of a tanker attack from a company security officer, who said that his firm's vessel had been hit by a projectile during an outbound transit through the Strait of Hormuz. All crew are reported safe, and there are no reports of any environmental impact. 

The Iranian presence in the strait is constant and active, according to UKMTO. "IRGC attacks, attempted attacks, and/or harassment activity persisted including UAV overflight, targeted surveillance of merchant shipping, and occasional VHF hailing," the agency reports. "These actions continue to demonstrate Iran’s intent to assert presence along key transit lanes and maintain pressure on transiting vessels."

Under the circumstances, traffic through the waterway is below-normal, in the range of single to low-double-digit transit counts per day - well below the number of escorts seen early last week. 
 
On Saturday, U.S. forces also targeted and disabled an Iran-linked bulker, the 1999-built Huda. U.S. Central Command asserted that the vessel’s crew ignored repeated warnings and attempted to violate the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports. CENTCOM said it had directed the crew to “abandon the targeted spaces” aboard the vessel prior to the strike.