Two tankers were targeted by unidentified attackers near the strategically important Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, one operated by a Japanese company, industry minister Hiroshige Seko said.
All 21 Filipino crew members of the Japan-operated Kokuka Courageous escaped uninjured in life rafts and were rescued by a ship heading to the United Arab Emirates, according to the ship's operator, Kokuka Sangyo Co.
The 19,349-ton tanker was carrying methanol from Saudi Arabia to Singapore when it was attacked in the Gulf of Oman, near the UAE emirate of Fujairah, according to Kokuka Sangyo.