The apparent strike on the Kuwait-flagged ‌Al Salmi is the latest in a string of assaults on merchant vessels by missiles or explosive air and sea drones in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.

Crude oil prices briefly spiked anew after Kuwait’s state news agency reported the attack on the tanker, which can carry around 2 ​million barrels of oil worth more than $200 million at current prices.

Kuwait Petroleum Corp, the ship’s owner, said work was underway to assess damage and warned of a possible oil spill.

Authorities ​in Dubai later said they had been able to bring the fire under control following a drone attack on the tanker.

No injuries have been ⁠reported, they said.

The jump in oil and fuel prices has started to weigh on US household finances and become a political headache for Trump and his Republican Party ahead of the November midterm elections, having ​vowed to lower energy prices and ramp up US oil and gas production.

The US national average retail price of gasoline crossed $4 a gallon for the first time in more than three years on Monday, data ​from price-tracking service GasBuddy showed, as tightening global supplies push US crude prices above $101 a barrel.