The British maritime security agency UKMTO reported a ‘large explosion after a tanker was hit, causing an oil spill on Thursday.
The escalating West Asia war, which started off between Iran, Israel, and the US, has now engulfed all of the Gulf. Reportedly, the master of the hit tanker also saw a small aircraft near the incident spot.
According to UKMTO, there is oil in the water coming from the cargo tank, raising environmental concerns.
Although the report also mentions no casualties as of now, the crew remains safe.
Kuwait’s interior ministry later clarified that the incident occurred outside territorial waters, over 60 km (37 miles) from Mubarak Al Kabeer port.
The incident comes after a US Submarine torpedoed an Iranian ship ‘IRIS Dena’ off the coast of Sri Lanka, leaving more than 80 dead and several missing out of a total of 180 sailors onboard.
The Sri Lankan Navy rescued 32 sailors and 87 bodies. The Iranian ship was on its way back to Iran after taking part in the International Fleet Review 2026 and Exercise Milan from Visakhapatnam.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth later confirmed during a press briefing that the ship was torpedoed by a US Submarine.
“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters”, said Hegseth.
Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo,” he added.
Earlier on March 1, a projectile struck the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker MKD Vyom, killing one crew member as it sailed off Oman’s coast.
In a similar incident, an oil tanker ‘Skylight’ came under attack around 5 nautical miles north of Khasab Port in Musandam Governorate, with 15 Indian onboard.
