(FILES) Tankers are seen at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in the Sharjah Emirate, along the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes on June 23, 2025. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and particularly tensions in the Red Sea, are reshaping the logistics routes for goods trade, with Africa becoming a hub for global container traffic, according to logistics and maritime sources. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and particularly tensions in the Red Sea, are reshaping the logistics routes for goods trade, with Africa becoming a hub for global container traffic, according to logistics and maritime sources. Locally, over the past two months, the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has also prompted shipowners to find alternative land routes to deliver, by lorry, foodstuffs and manufactured goods that can no longer reach the Gulf?s coastal countries by sea. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP)
A tanker was hit by unidentified projectiles off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a British maritime agency reported Monday, as the United States said it would escort ships through the blocked Strait of Hormuz.
"A tanker has reported being hit by unknown projectiles," the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said, adding that all crew members were safe.
The incident occurred 78 nautical miles north of the UAE city of Fujairah, the agency added.
It called on vessels to transit the region "with caution" as authorities investigate.
The report came as the U.S. and Iran remain deadlocked in peace negotiations since a ceasefire in the Middle East war came into effect on April 8.
Iran has maintained a stranglehold on the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and the United States has put in place a naval blockade in return.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday the US would begin escorting ships through the strait from Monday.
U.S. Central Command said it would use guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms and 15,000 service members in the effort.
As of April 29, more than 900 commercial vessels were located in the Gulf, according to maritime intelligence firm AXSMarine. There had been more than 1,100 at the start of the war.
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