The Panama-flagged oil products tanker El Gaia was struck by a missile and a drone while transiting the Strait of Hormuz near Oman on September 13, causing a fire and leaving one of its 14 Indian crew members unaccounted for. Thirteen crew members were rescued. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the tanker had hit naval mines, but US Central Command rejected that account as disinformation intended to intimidate commercial shipping. Alerts from UK Maritime Trade Operations were consistent with a projectile strike, and India’s Ministry of External Affairs condemned the incident as an unacceptable attack on a commercial vessel carrying Indian nationals. Built in 2005, the El Gaia has roughly 48,000 deadweight tons and is owned by El Gaia Shipping Inc. and managed by Elsey Ship Management LLC. The incident comes amid an increase in attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Gulf throughout 2026. The waterway carries roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply each day, and rising incidents have pushed up insurance premiums for ships using the route. The fate of the missing crew member remains unknown, underscoring the human cost of the region’s maritime escalation.