Iran appears to have seized an oil tanker owned by billionaire Greek shipowner George Prokopiou after the vessel was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.

The tanker Kavomaleas was sailing toward the Persian Gulf off the coast of Oman when it was struck by two projectiles during the night of July 19. The attack triggered a fire in the engine room, forcing the crew to evacuate, The Caspian Post reports via Financial Times.

Satellite images captured by the European Space Agency on July 21 show a vessel matching the size and deck color of the Kavomaleas inside Iranian waters near Larak Island. Smoke can be seen rising from the engine section, while the area where the tanker was originally attacked is now empty. The vessel had been scheduled to load more than 500,000 barrels of oil in the Persian Gulf.

Prokopiou's shipping company, Dynacom, said it had not authorized any towing operation involving the tanker and is still trying to determine its location. The company also revealed that another of its vessels, Acheloos, carrying 2 million barrels of oil, was attacked on the same night.

Since US and Israeli strikes on Iran began in February, Dynacom has reportedly sent at least 10 tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. Last month, Prokopiou compared his company's operations to Greek merchants who broke naval blockades during the Napoleonic Wars, saying Greece has a long tradition of navigating through blockades.

More than 45 commercial vessels have been attacked since the conflict escalated, and the Kavomaleas incident marks the third reported seizure by Iran since the war began.