UKMTO Reports Tanker Hit by Projectiles Off UAE; Trump Vows Strait of Hormuz Rescue

All crew members are safe, and no environmental damage has been reported.

The UKMTO said in a post on X, "UKMTO has received a report of an incident 78NM north of Fujairah. United Arab Emirates. A tanker has reported being hit by unknown projectiles. All crew reported safe. No environmental impact reported. Authorities are investigating. Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO."

UKMTO did not disclose the identity or flag of the vessel involved.

United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations (UKMTO) is a Royal Navy organisation that provides an information route between the military and the wider international maritime trade. Its main goal is to safeguard international trade by providing mariners with verified security information and facilitating emergency responses to threats like piracy and regional conflict.

Strait of Hormuz traffic remains significantly reduced. On 03 May 2026, UKMTO received a report of an incident 11NM west of Sirik, Iran, in which the Master of a northbound bulk carrier reported being attacked by multiple small craft. The vessel departed the area and all crew are reported safe. Anchorages show no significant change in congestion. Reports of mines in and near the TSS persist, and GNSS interference remains sporadic but reduced from the level of activity recorded in March.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has announced "Project Freedom," an initiative aimed at helping commercial vessels trapped in the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating regional tensions in the Gulf.

In a post on Truth Social on Sunday (local time), Trump said countries around the world had requested American assistance to safely guide their ships out of the strategically vital waterway.

"Countries from all over the World, almost all of which are not involved in the Middle Eastern dispute going on so visibly, and violently, for all to see, have asked the United States if we could help free up their Ships, which are locked up in the Strait of Hormuz, on something which they have absolutely nothing to do with," Trump said.

- ANI