A Chinese-owned ship carrying oil products was attacked near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, Caixin reported, cited by Reuters. It is the first time a Chinese oil tanker has been attacked, a person familiar with the situation told the Chinese publication on Thursday.
The ship was marked with the phrase “Owner & Crew from China” and the deck caught fire in the attack, according to Caixin.
China remains a key buyer of Iranian oil, which is targeted by a US blockade in the Gulf of Oman.
Donald Trump had said on Monday that the United States would begin efforts to support ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, but suspended them a day later after Iran responded by launching drones and missiles at several ships and at its neighbors, particularly the United Arab Emirates.
The damaged Chinese vessel is believed to be the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker JV Innovation, which was carrying petroleum and chemical products, maritime security sources said. On Monday, the ship had reported to nearby ships that there was a fire on its deck.
The incident took place off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, in the Gulf, near Mina Saqr, Caixin also wrote.
Hundreds of ships and 20,000 sailors are stuck in the Gulf because of the war between the United States and Iran, as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is paralyzed.
The head of Chinese diplomacy, Wang Yi, met in Beijing on Wednesday with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, with whom he discussed the reopening of the strait, according to the Chinese side.
Prospects for a limited US-Iran deal
Sources and officials told Reuters the US and Iran were moving toward a limited, temporary agreement to end hostilities, a framework that would halt the fighting but leave the most contentious issues unresolved.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said a deal between Washington and Tehran was “very possible” but threatened to resume bombing “at a much higher level and intensity” if negotiations fail, according to AFP.
Also on Wednesday, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament and Tehran's main negotiator in talks with the US, said Washington was “seeking, through a naval blockade, economic pressure and media manipulation, to destroy the country's cohesion so as to force us to surrender”.
