10 MAR 2026
At least four seafarers have reportedly been killed in an attack on a tug operating near the Strait of Hormuz, prompting a warning from the head of the International Maritime Organization that civilian mariners are increasingly being caught in the crossfire of the escalating Middle East conflict.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said he was “alarmed and deeply saddened” by reports that the March 6 incident left at least four seafarers dead and three others severely injured.
“My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those affected, as well as the global maritime community mourning these losses,” Dominguez said in a statement Friday.
The casualties are believed to have occurred aboard a tug assisting the container ship SAFEEN PRESTIGE, which had been damaged in an earlier projectile strike earlier this week.
According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the tug was struck by unknown projectiles while operating approximately six nautical miles north of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz.
UKMTO said authorities are investigating the incident and advised vessels transiting the area to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity.
The strike appears to be part of the widening wave of attacks against commercial shipping across the region that has transformed one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints into an active conflict zone.
Around 20,000 seafarers remain aboard vessels stranded across the Persian Gulf, many unable to leave the region as shipowners suspend voyages and insurers reassess war-risk exposure.
“This is unacceptable and unsustainable,” Dominguez said. “All parties and stakeholders have an obligation to take necessary measures to ensure the protection of seafarers, including their rights and well-being, and the freedom of navigation, in accordance with international law.”
The latest fatalities follow earlier casualties reported during the opening wave of attacks that triggered the current crisis. On March 2, product tanker MKD VYOM was struck above the waterline roughly 44 nautical miles northwest of Muscat, triggering an explosion and engine-room fire that killed one crew member.
V.Ships Asia, managers of the Marshall Islands-flagged product tanker, has confirmed all other crew members have been repatriated.
“The vessel remains in a safe and stable condition, and there continues to be no reports of pollution,” it said. “Towing operations are ongoing to bring her safely into a port of refuge, where she will undergo further inspection and any necessary repairs.”
That incident occurred during a concentrated series of missile and drone strikes on commercial vessels across the Gulf of Oman and UAE waters that prompted the Joint Maritime Information Center to elevate the regional maritime threat level to CRITICAL, warning that further attacks against merchant vessels were highly likely.
Since then, multiple ships have been struck or targeted in the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Gulf, and the Strait of Hormuz, including the tanker SKYLIGHT and the chemical tanker STENA IMPERATIVE.
The attacks have sharply curtailed vessel movements through the strategic waterway, which normally carries a significant share of global oil shipments, as shipowners pause transits and charterers reassess the risks.
For the thousands of seafarers still aboard ships in the region, the crisis has turned routine voyages into one of the most dangerous operating environments in global shipping.
“Seafarers must not be targets,” Dominguez said. “They are essential workers who keep global trade moving and whose safety must be protected.”