Oil tanker incident
Front Altair and Kokuka Courageous
13 June 2019
Gulf of Oman
What happened
Both tankers were damaged in explosive attacks in the Gulf of Oman; Front Altair caught fire and was abandoned before being brought under control. The US military attributed the attacks to Iran; Iran denied responsibility.
When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.
- Vessel / facility
- Products tanker (Front Altair) and chemical tanker (Kokuka Courageous)
- Cargo
- Naphtha (Front Altair); methanol (Kokuka Courageous)
- Attack
- Reported limpet-mine/explosive attacks; Front Altair caught fire
- Latitude
- 25.2000°
- Longitude
- 58.1000°
Attribution
Responsibility disputed United States attributed the attacks to Iran; Iran denied involvement
US CENTCOM released video said to show an Iranian vessel removing an unexploded mine; attribution remains politically disputed.
Approximate marker in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz.