Two Ships Sink Near Strait of Hormuz After Projectile Strikes
The incidents come amid a surge in attacks around the strategic waterway over the past 10 days, as Iran says it is intensifying strikes in response to a US blockade of its ports and tougher sanctions introduced last month.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Two vessels, a container ship and a dry bulk carrier, have sunk near the Strait of Hormuz within 24 hours after being hit by projectiles in separate incidents, maritime officials said on Wednesday.
The incidents come amid a surge in attacks around the strategic waterway over the past 10 days, as Iran says it is intensifying strikes in response to a US blockade of its ports and tougher sanctions introduced last month.
The Singapore-flagged GFS Pride, a container vessel with a capacity of 2,824 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), sank while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to maritime security sources.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said the vessel sustained damage and caught fire before sinking. All 21 crew members were safely evacuated, and no injuries were reported. The ship was sailing through the strait on Tuesday, the authority added.
In a separate incident, the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged Cape Dao sank near the strait, according to data from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations agency responsible for international shipping.
The vessel had been struck by a projectile on September 23. One crew member was killed in the incident, while the remaining crew members were evacuated immediately after the strike, maritime sources said.
The ship's UAE-based manager, Peonies Shipmanagement FZE, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important maritime chokepoints, connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It serves as a critical route for global oil and gas shipments, making attacks on vessels in the area a concern for international shipping and energy markets.