By Jonathan Saul and Renee Maltezou
LONDON, Oct 14 (Reuters) – A Singapore-flagged container ship has sunk near the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by a projectile, while a dry bulk carrier damaged in an earlier attack is also reported to be sinking, maritime security sources said on Wednesday.
Attacks around the waterway have surged over the past 10 days. The Singapore-flagged GFS Pride, a small container vessel with capacity for 2,824 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), sank while sailing through the strait, the sources said.
“GFS PRIDE sustained damage and a fire on board, and has since sunk. All 21 crew members were safely evacuated. No injuries have been reported,” the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the vessel had been sailing through the strait on Tuesday.
The loss of the GFS Pride marks the second vessel to sink since the US-Iran war began on February 28, according to data from the UN shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization.
“MPA is deeply concerned about the continued attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the Singapore authority said.
“Such attacks are unprovoked, unjustifiable, and a breach of international law.”
GFS Pride’s United Arab Emirates-based manager, GFS Ship Management FZE, could not be immediately reached for comment.
The latest incident comes amid a sharp escalation in threats to commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade passed before the war.
Tehran has sought to tighten its grip on the waterway since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, restricting transit in an effort to gain leverage over Washington. The United States, meanwhile, has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and expanded sanctions to intensify economic pressure on Tehran.
Iran is increasingly deploying new tactics against vessels transiting the strait as it seeks to keep oil prices elevated and influence US midterm elections, two senior Iranian officials told Reuters.
While Iran and the US have focused their attacks on tankers, cargo and container vessels have also been attacked, immobilised or sunk.
In a separate incident, the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged Cape Dao was reported to be sinking close to the strait after being struck by a projectile on September 23, the maritime security sources said.
“The Antigua & Barbuda flagged bulk carrier CAPE DAO, originally hit on the 23 September, is reported to be sinking after an unsuccessful rescue attempt,” British maritime risk management group Vanguard said in a note on Wednesday.
The vessel’s UAE-based manager Peonies Shipmanagement FZE could not be immediately reached for comment.
The Maltese-flagged container ship Safeen Prestige was hit by a projectile in March and later sank north of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards attacked and seized the container ship MSC Francesca in April.
(Reporting by Jonathan Saul and Renee MaltezouEditing by Ros Russell)
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