Two merchant ships have sunk near the Strait of Hormuz within 24 hours after being hit by projectiles in separate incidents, Reuters reported, citing maritime officials. One was a container ship and the other a dry bulk carrier.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said the Singapore-registered container ship GFS Pride was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the strait on October 13, suffered damage and a fire, and has since sunk. All 21 crew members were safely evacuated and no injuries were reported. A second Singapore-registered container ship, GFS Giselle, was hit on October 14 and sustained hull damage but reached a safe anchorage under its own power with all 22 crew safe.
The BBC reported that the Hydrographer of Pakistan warned mariners that GFS Pride had sunk about 4 nautical miles north-west of Ras al-Sheikh Masud on Oman's Musandam Peninsula.
According to Reuters, the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier Cape Dao, struck by a projectile on September 23 in an attack that killed one crew member, also sank close to the strait, data from the International Maritime Organization showed. Reuters said the two vessels are the second and third to sink since the US-Iran war began on February 28.
The Singapore authority called the attacks unprovoked, unjustifiable and a breach of international law. No party immediately claimed responsibility for these specific strikes. Reuters said attacks around the waterway have surged over the past 10 days, with Iran saying it is stepping up strikes in response to the US blockade of its ports and tougher sanctions introduced last month. The Guardian reported that UK Maritime Trade Operations recorded at least five incidents in the previous 48 hours.
Before the war, about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade passed through the Strait of Hormuz, making threats to shipping there a direct driver of world energy prices.