Amid the escalating conflict in West Asia, a video showing a vessel engulfed in flames and billowing smoke is being widely shared across social media platforms with claims that Iranian missiles struck and destroyed Pakistan-flagged oil tankers while they were transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Pro-BJP X handle Jaipur Dialogues (@JaipurDialogues), which is run by retired IAS officer Sanjay Dixit, posted the clip on March 27, asserting that it depicted the aftermath of an Iranian missile strike on a Pakistan-flagged oil tanker “just a few hours ago.” (Archive)
A Pakistan flagged oil tanker was destroyed by Iranian missiles few hours earlier while crossing strait of Hormuz😂
— The Jaipur Dialogues (@JaipurDialogues) March 27, 2026
The post garnered around 264,000 views. Readers should note that X user @JaipurDialogues has been found sharing misinformation and propaganda several times in the past.
Another X account, The Unknown Man (@Theunk5555), shared the video with the same claim. (Archive)
A Pakistan flagged oil tanker was destroyed by Iranian missiles few hours earlier while crossing strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan has earlier betrayed Iran by re-routing Iranian oil to US.
This is a reply by Iran to Pakistan pic.twitter.com/VnBUVANVJn— THE UNKNOWN MAN (@Theunk5555) March 27, 2026
The post amassed nearly 4 million views.
Dhruv Wadhwa (@dhruvwadhwa), co-convenor of media management and media relations, BJP Punjab, did the same. (Archive)
Pakistani flagged oil tanker after crossing Strait of Hornouz without permission destroyed by Iranian missiles.
Reply to Pakistan after betraying Iran by putting its flag on US Oil Vessels.
Isko vichola banna tha 🤣🤣
#FuelStabilityUnderModi #Irán #Pakistan… pic.twitter.com/KC16UVj7bl
— Dhruv Wadhwa (@dhruvwadhwa) March 27, 2026
Several other social media users made similar claims by sharing the same video. A few of them are shown in the gallery below.
Fact Check
Upon a closer examination of the footage, we could read part of the vessel’s name, which was “Safeen”.
Subsequently, a relevant keyword search led us to a maritime tracking website, MarineTraffic, that indicated the ship in question was a container ship named ‘Safeen Prestige ‘, built in 2013 and sailing under the flag of Malta.
Based on data from marine tracking platforms like MarineTraffic, container ship Safeen Prestige was last reported in the Oman Gulf 23 days and 8 hours ago.
In addition, Vesselfinder.com indicated that the vessel was last located in the Persian Gulf 24 days ago.
Safeen Feeders is a UAE-based concern that provides regional and international trade route connectivity across container feedering and dry bulk shipping.
Further corroboration comes from a Reuters report from March 4, 2026, which documented an incident involving a Malta-flagged container ship struck by an unidentified projectile while navigating toward the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the report, the vessel was hit approximately two nautical miles north of Oman, sustaining damage that caused a fire in its engine room. A British maritime risk management firm, Vanguard, told Reuters that the projectile struck just above the waterline, but no environmental damage was reported.
A visual comparison between the vessel in the viral video and images of ‘Safeen Prestige’ present in the MarineTraffic website’s gallery reveals strong similarities, confirming the identification.
To sum up, the viral footage appears to show a Malta-flagged container ship that was struck earlier in March by an unidentified projectile. The claim that Iranian missiles targeted and destroyed Pakistan-flagged oil tankers is false and misleading.
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