Fresh reporting adds another commercial-shipping incident in the corridor and sharpens the dispute over who controls transit, while a widely shared casualty report has turned out to be false.

UK Maritime Trade Operations issued a notice on what it calculates as the 68th incident this year, saying "military authorities" had informed it that a tanker was struck on the port bow about six nautical miles off the coast of Oman. UKMTO reported no injuries and said the unnamed vessel was proceeding to a port [2]. Maritime security firm Vanguard Tech backed the report, identifying the tanker as Hong Kong-flagged, reporting a release of cargo but no injuries, and saying the ship was heading to Oman for inspection [2]. Based on the reported position, Infomarine says the vessel appears to have been transiting the southern route through the strait established by the United States [2].

US Central Command separately said its forces downed multiple one-way attack drones launched from Iran, describing an attempt to strike commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and said traffic flow through the strait continues unimpeded [2]. That sits awkwardly alongside the Associated Press account that the US military is guiding ships through the strait while overall traffic remains low [3], and with the IRGC Navy's claim, reported Thursday, that it had again closed the strait and was in full control, having fired on two tankers attempting the passage and turned back a third on Friday [2]. The IRGC has repeatedly said all vessels must use the northern route and obtain its clearance [2].

A false report spread quickly in India that the Marshall Islands-registered, UAE-managed product tanker Liaki Freedom had been struck, after the Forward Seamen's Union of India posted that the vessel was in the reported attack position and not answering radio calls; rumours followed of four seamen killed. India's Ministry of External Affairs denounced the reports and the spreading of false information, saying it had contacted the Liaki Freedom and that the ship was anchored off Sohar, Oman. The union later posted a call with the crew, heard saying "All Ok" [2].

On the Iranian side, state-owned Tasnim said four US missiles hit an oil tanker about six nautical miles off Kharg Island on Saturday morning, with no casualties and the crew evacuating — a third Tehran-sourced account of the strike CENTCOM has now confirmed [1].

Infomarine also notes Pakistani officials saying a US-Iran memorandum of understanding could be signed within hours. That remains unconfirmed, and no terms have been published [2].