The identity of the fuel tanker struck by Iranian forces on Nov 7 is under review after shipping data suggested the vessel on fire was not the Navig8 Messi. Tracking service Live AIS stated that the Navig8 Messi was actually docked at a terminal in Fujairah on the day of the strike, making it more likely that the target was a sister vessel, the Navig8 Macallister, which had been operating off-grid for several weeks.
The attack occurred on the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz near Khasab, Oman, causing a fire in the engine room that required tugboats to extinguish. The vessel, a product tanker indirectly owned by ADNOC, had disabled its automatic identification system and was on Iran’s list of non-compliant ships. Earlier reports had linked the target to the Navig8 Messi, noting that the ship had previously been hit by drones from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Aug 13.
