A Singapore-flagged container ship has sunk after being struck by an unidentified projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with all 21 crew members evacuated safely, Singaporean authorities have confirmed.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said the vessel, GFS Pride, was hit on Tuesday, sustaining damage that triggered a fire. All crew members were evacuated, and no injuries were reported.A second Singapore-flagged container ship, GFS Giselle, was struck by a projectile on Wednesday, sustaining hull damage. However, the vessel managed to reach a safe anchorage with all 22 crew members accounted for, the authority said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) offered a different account of the first incident, saying a vessel had struck naval mines while travelling along what it described as an unauthorised route through the strait. Images released by the Guards appeared to show a container ship still afloat but listing heavily, with thick black smoke rising from it. Other images showed shipping containers and their contents floating in the water.
The Hydrographer of Pakistan warned mariners that GFS Pride had sunk about four nautical miles north-west of Ras al-Sheikh Masud, near Oman’s Musandam Peninsula. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency also reported that two unnamed container ships had been struck by unidentified projectiles between 16:40 and 17:00 GMT on Tuesday. Both sustained minor damage but continued their journeys.
Attacks Threaten Vital Shipping Route
The latest incidents add to a series of attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding Middle Eastern waters since the US-Israeli war with Iran began in February. The International Maritime Organization has reported at least 106 confirmed incidents involving merchant vessels, resulting in the deaths of at least 24 seafarers.
The Malta-flagged container ship Safeen Prestige, attacked near Oman on March 4, was previously reported as the only other vessel to have sunk during the conflict. Meanwhile, maritime risk management group Vanguard reported on Wednesday that the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier Cape Dao was believed to be sinking after a rescue attempt failed, according to Reuters.
One seafarer was killed when an unidentified projectile struck the ship’s bridge and accommodation area on September 23, north-east of Khasab in Oman. The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Around one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments normally pass through the strategic waterway, making its security critical to international energy markets. The route was effectively closed after the war began, following Iranian missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels and a US naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Despite the renewed attacks, analysts from shipping data company Kpler estimated that crude exports through the waterway rose last month to approximately 80 per cent of their pre-war level, which averaged 16 million barrels per day.
