China's Foreign Ministry confirmed Friday that a tanker containing oil products and crew from China was attacked on the Strait of Hormuz. The ministry also expressed deep concern for vessels affected by the Middle East conflict.

Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, said that there are Chinese citizens aboard the ship, but so far no crew casualties have been reported.

Chinese media Caixin reported Thursday that a Chinese owned oil products tanker, marked "CHINA OWNER & CREW", was attacked on Monday near the Strait of Hormuz.

The attack occurred before Wednesday's meeting in Beijing between China's Foreign Minister,?Wang Yi and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi, where they discussed the reopening of the strait.

China's imports of Iranian oil were largely unaffected by the war in Iran, and its major buyers of Iranian crude have remained the same.

The attacker vessel hasn't been identified.

According to maritime security sources, the vessel believed to have been damaged is the Marshall Islands flagged oil products and chemicals tanker JV Innovation. It reported an?fire on the deck' to nearby vessels on Monday.

Reports said that the incident took place near Mina Saqr in the Gulf, off the coast United Arab Emirates.

The conflict between the United States and Iran has left around 20,000 seafarers and hundreds of ships stranded in the Gulf. Meanwhile, the 'traffic through Strait of Hormuz was severely disrupted this week by renewed attacks against vessels.

On Thursday, the United States and Iran traded fire again as Washington awaited Tehran's response to an American proposal aimed at stopping the fighting, while leaving controversial issues, such as Iran's nuke programme, unresolved. (Reporting and editing by Christian Schmollinger, Ros Russell and Lewis Jackson)

(source: Reuters)