Two oil tankers, including the US-owned SafeSea Vishnu, caught fire after reported explosive boat attacks in the Persian Gulf near Basra, Iraq. Officials said 25 crew members were rescued as flames and thick smoke engulfed one of the vessels along a key global oil shipping route.

Iran has continued to ship crude oil via the Strait of Hormuz to China even as the war between U.S.-Israel and Iran has disrupted broader energy supplies via the waterway.

Moscow has rushed to load oil onto tankers to take advantage of a sharp price spike caused by Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as a US tariff waiver allowing buyers to purchase these volumes without fear of sanctions.

A flotilla of at least 25 supertankers is heading to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu as the kingdom races to get its oil to market after the Iran war halted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

An oil tanker owned by New Jersey-based Safesea Group was struck by an unmanned craft during cargo operations in an Iraqi port in the Persian Gulf, triggering a fire that forced the crew to abandon ship and left one crew member dead,

Jag Laadki is carrying around 80,800 tonnes of Murban crude—a crude grade produced by the UAE—and the tanker as well as all Indian seafarers on board are safe.

LIANYUNGANG, JIANGSU, CHINA, March 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As the global oil, gas, and chemical industries