A Malta-flagged products tanker issued a distress signal after a vessel was seen burning near Oman’s Kumzar late on 19 July, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
The tanker was sailing west through the southern Omani route in the Strait of Hormuz when the alert was raised about 7.45 nautical miles northwest of Kumzar.
UKMTO placed the incident eight nautical miles northwest of the Omani port at 2245 UTC and classified Warning 092-26 as “suspicious activity”. The cause of the fire remained unverified. Vessels were advised to proceed with caution while authorities investigated.
The Strait of Hormuz handled 20.9m barrels per day of petroleum liquids in the first half of 2025, equivalent to about 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption.
UKMTO is a Royal Navy capability operating a voluntary reporting scheme for merchant shipping. It acts as a contact point between commercial vessels and regional military authorities and distributes maritime security warnings across its reporting area.