Seafarer Killed as Hormuz Tanker Attacks Rise; Iran Says Two Ships Hit Mines

One of the latest Hormuz tanker attacks has killed a seafarer, as fresh incidents in and around the strait raise fears for Gulf shipping. The Greek manager of the product tanker Velos Sapphire said on Friday that a crew member was found fatally injured on board after an explosion. Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said two more tankers had struck mines and caught fire inside the Strait of Hormuz.

The incidents come as Qatar and Oman push for a diplomatic deal between Washington and Tehran. However, both sides are still trading threats, and there is no sign yet that the waterway will reopen. This report reflects information available as of Friday evening, 6 November, Pakistan time.

What happened to the Velos Sapphire

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) lists the Velos Sapphire as attacked on 4 November. At the time, it was roughly 50 nautical miles off Qatar’s northern coast, near Madinat ash Shamal, trade publication Riviera reported. The vessel is a 75,000-tonne LR1 product tanker built in 2007 and owned by Greece-based Velos Tankers.

In its first alert, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO) said two unidentified projectiles had hit a tanker. At that stage, it said the crew’s condition and the damage were unconfirmed.

On Friday, Velos Tankers said one of its seafarers went missing after the blast. The crew later found him dead on board, the company said in a statement reported by Reuters. “The company is greatly saddened to report the death of one of its seafarers,” it said. The firm added that it believed a missile caused the explosion.

According to the company, the Marshall Islands-flagged ship was sailing without cargo towards Bahrain. The rest of the crew were unhurt and put out a fire caused by the blast. The company reported no pollution. The tanker has since been taken to Bahrain’s Khalifa Bin Salman Port, where an investigation will begin. Engineers are still assessing the damage to its hull.

No group has publicly claimed the attack, and the source of the projectiles has not been officially confirmed.

Iran says two tankers hit mines

Separately, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Friday that two tankers struck mines and caught fire. According to Iran’s Press TV, the IRGC said the ships had tried to use an “unauthorised” route through the strait. It also claimed they had switched off their tracking systems and tried to sail under the cover of US forces.

The IRGC did not name the vessels. Its account has not been independently verified, and there was no immediate response from the ships’ owners.

In addition, UKMTO reported that a tanker had an explosion off Oman while passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera said. It was not clear whether that ship was one of the two vessels mentioned by the IRGC.

Hormuz tanker attacks put crews at risk

Overall, the toll on merchant shipping keeps rising. By 6 November, the IMO counted 129 confirmed incidents across Hormuz and the broader region. In total, 25 seafarers have died, Riviera reported.

Shipbroker Clarksons recorded 32 attacks in October alone, the most in any month since the fighting started. The US-led Joint Maritime Information Center rates the threat in the strait as “severe”. It has also warned mariners to watch for attempted mining near the main shipping lanes.

The conflict started on 28 February with US and Israeli strikes on Iran. Since then, Iran has restricted traffic through Hormuz, a key route for Gulf oil and gas exports.

Diplomacy continues amid threats

Despite the attacks, mediators are still trying to end the crisis. US President Donald Trump held a phone call with Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, a Qatari statement said on Friday. According to Al Jazeera, the emir stressed the need for dialogue and diplomatic solutions to avoid further escalation.

A senior Iranian official also told Reuters that Tehran had sent Washington a nuclear proposal through Qatar. However, the official said Iran would only discuss it after the US meets seven Iranian demands. These include lifting sanctions, releasing frozen assets and paying war reparations.

Iran’s top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, has said the strait will stay closed until those conditions are met. On the other hand, Trump warned on Thursday that he might “destroy the rest” of Iran. “I would rather not destroy the rest of the country, if possible, but maybe I’ll have to,” he told reporters.

Why it matters for Pakistan

For Pakistan, the stakes are high. The country relies heavily on fuel imports from the Gulf. As a result, any long disruption in Hormuz can affect fuel supplies, freight costs and prices at home.

For now, shipping firms face a hard choice between costly delays and dangerous voyages. The next test is whether Qatari and Omani mediation can secure safe passage before more lives are lost at sea.