Dramatic new onboard footage is circulating of the oil tanker that reportedly caught fire off the UAE coast, allegedly after striking an Iranian naval mine earlier today. The video shows thick black smoke pouring from the vessel, flames licking across the deck, crew members in safety gear moving urgently, and distant fiery plumes rising over the water. The ship is described as a VLCC, a very large crude carrier, hauling roughly 2 million barrels of Saudi crude oil at the time of the incident. Separate reports indicate a Panama-flagged tanker, the GEM NO.2, was struck by an unknown projectile about 13 nautical miles west of Al Jazeera, UAE on October 9, sparking a fire that crews were later able to extinguish, with everyone onboard reported safe.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has tied similar incidents in the region to naval mines, claiming they're enforcing restrictions against tankers using what it calls unauthorized routes through the Hormuz corridor. The IRGC has signaled it plans to expand this kind of enforcement against vessels it considers non-compliant, part of a broader pattern of warnings and incidents that has rattled Gulf shipping in recent months. It's worth noting that past IRGC mine claims in this region, including a similar incident involving the tanker El Gaia last month, have been disputed by US Central Command, which attributed that strike to an Iranian missile and drone rather than a mine. As tensions in the Strait of Hormuz corridor continue building, incidents like this one are adding to growing concern over the safety of oil shipments moving through one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints.