The NATO Shipping Centre (NSC) said the unnamed ship reported being shot at twice from close range.

The assailants were in a speedboat and were carrying machine guns.

Attacks along the key oil shipping lane are uncommon.

This one happened on the Gulf of Oman side, Reuters reported.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said: “Six persons in a skiff armed with machine gun approached a tanker underway and fired twice towards the accommodation and bridge."

The