A Singapore-flagged container ship has sunk near the Strait of Hormuz after being struck by a projectile, maritime authorities and security sources said, as attacks on commercial vessels in the strategic waterway intensified.
The GFS Pride, a vessel with capacity for about 2,800 twenty-foot equivalent units, sustained damage and caught fire while transiting the strait on Tuesday before sinking, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement on Wednesday.
“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 MPA said.
The authority added that it was “deeply concerned about the continued attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” describing such incidents as “unprovoked, unjustifiable, and a breach of international law.”
In a separate incident, the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier Cape Dao sank close to the strait after being hit by a projectile on September 23, according to data from the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization. One crew member was killed in the earlier strike, maritime sources said, while the rest of the crew were evacuated.
The two sinkings bring to three the number of vessels lost since the start of the US-Iran conflict on February 28, according to an analysis of IMO casualty data.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy claimed the GFS Pride struck a naval mine while attempting to navigate what it called an “unauthorised and dangerous” route. Iranian state media reported the ship was carrying more than 2,500 containers and suffered a severe fire before sinking south of the strait.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency reported that container ships had been struck by unknown projectiles while transiting the waterway, with vessels able to continue after sustaining minor damage in some cases.
Attacks around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil and container traffic, have surged over the past 10 days amid the ongoing conflict.
