At least three tankers were damaged off the Gulf coast after US and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered Iranian retaliation that put merchant ships at risk of collateral damage, Reuters said quoting shipping sources and officials.

Risks to commercial shipping have surged in the past 24 hours, with more than 200 vessels including oil and liquefied gas tankers dropping anchor around the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters, shipping data showed on Sunday, Reuters said.

The Marshall Islands-flagged crude oil tanker MKD VYOM was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman while sailing with a cargo, two maritime security sources said.

The vessel was hit 44.4 nautical miles northwest of Muscat, one of the sources said.

British maritime agency UKMTO said that a laden merchant vessel reported an explosion in the same location.

A separate tanker in the United Arab Emirates port of Jebel Ali was almost damaged by falling debris from an aerial interception after overnight Iranian attacks targeting Gulf states, maritime security sources said.

A third oil-bunkering tanker was damaged off the UAE coast, two shipping sources said.

Vessels were recommended to keep clear of the Strait of Hormuz and wider Gulf of Oman because of the risk of retaliatory strikes by Iran, the US transport ministry's Maritime Administration said in a note on Saturday.