IMB says unidentified assailants in a speedboat fired at a crude oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. The crew of the unidentified oil tanker reported being shot at twice from close range from a speedboat carrying six people with machine guns on Sunday morning. They repelled the attack with hoses and the tanker and crew are safe. Although suspected Somali pirates commonly target vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Somali Basin, attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz - a vital oil and gas shipping route - are rare. The shooting happened on the Gulf of Oman side of the Strait of Hormuz, about 90 minutes after an unidentified merchant ship was approached by two speedboats with crews wearing military clothing, the NATO Shipping Centre (NSC) said on Sunday.