Tanker Fire Reported Near Strait of Hormuz Hours After Container Ship Sinks

Tanker fire reported

Iran’s army said a tanker was burning toward the eastern part of the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported on Thursday. The army described the vessel as violating restrictions and attempting to cross a restricted area in the Gulf of Oman.

The report followed the sinking of the GFS Pride, a small Singapore-flagged container ship with capacity for 2,824 twenty-foot equivalent units. Sources told Reuters it sank on Wednesday while travelling through the shipping route after hitting a mine, but the account does not establish whether it was struck by a mine or an unknown projectile.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations said it had received a report that a container ship was hit by an unknown projectile. It remains unclear whether that report concerns the GFS Pride or a separate incident.

Crew evacuated safely

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said all 21 crew members were evacuated safely and nobody was injured. The article identifies the GFS Pride as the vessel that sank, but does not clarify whether it was also the ship involved in UKMTO’s projectile report. The sinking was described as the second vessel lost since the US-Iran war began on February 28, according to data from the International Maritime Organisation, the UN shipping agency.

More incidents near strait

Attacks around the waterway have increased over the past 10 days, while talks remain deadlocked and no end to the conflict appears in sight. The article also reports that people were gathering around a vessel alongside smaller craft believed to be assisting with evacuation, without identifying the ship.

A vital shipping route

Before the war, about 125 to 140 large commercial vessels passed through the waterway each day. They included oil tankers, gas carriers, bunker vessels and container ships.