(Changes spelling of tanker in bullet and paragraph 2 to Al Bahyah to conform to ADNOC L&S spelling)
By Enas Alashray
DUBAI, July 14 (Reuters) - One Indian crew member was killed and eight others were wounded when two Emirati oil tankers were struck by Iranian cruise missiles in the Strait of Hormuz, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday, in the latest escalation in the strategic waterway.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's shipping arm ADNOC L&S later confirmed the very large crude carriers (VLCCs) Mombasa B and Al Bahyah were struck while transiting Hormuz and had sustained "significant damage".
UAE state oil giant ADNOC has been among the most active participants in a U.S. military-led operation to move Gulf crude out to international buyers through ship-to-ship (STS) transfers beyond the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported last month. U.S. Central Command, which has not acknowledged the STS transfers, said on July 12 it had facilitated the transit of more than 800 vessels and over 400 million barrels of crude through the strait over the previous two months.
