Two Ships Sink Near Strait of Hormuz After Attacks

Two commercial vessels sank near the Strait of Hormuz after sustaining damage from projectiles, maritime authorities reported.

The Singapore-flagged container ship GFS Pride was hit while transiting the strait on Tuesday. It later caught fire and sank. All 21 crew members were evacuated safely with no injuries, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.

The authority stated that it is “deeply concerned about the continued attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Such attacks are unprovoked, unjustifiable, and a breach of international law.”

A second vessel, the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged dry bulk carrier Cape Dao, sank after an earlier attack on September 23. That incident killed one crew member and left the ship burning and adrift before it went down.

These were the second and third ships lost since the conflict involving the United States and Iran intensified at the end of February. The first was the Malta-flagged Safeen Prestige, struck by a missile on March 4 and sunk off Oman in early April after fires. A UAE-flagged tug assisting it was also hit.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that one vessel struck a naval mine it had laid while using an “unauthorized route.” Iranian state media released images of a cargo ship sinking by the stern and dropping containers.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported that two other container ships were struck by “unknown projectiles” on Tuesday evening but sustained only minor damage and continued their voyages. Iranian media separately described an oil tanker catching fire in a prohibited zone with its tracking systems switched off.

Social-media footage showed cargo, including mobile phones and luxury goods, floating in the water and being collected by small boats, consistent with material from the Cape Dao. Tracking data indicated that targeting has expanded beyond the strait itself into waters off Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

Two senior Iranian officials told Reuters that Iran has adopted new tactics, including the use of small spotter boats after U.S. strikes damaged radar sites. They said the goal is to keep oil prices elevated ahead of U.S. midterm elections.

One official described the effort as “a game of chess” and said vessels “would be safe nowhere, even outside the Strait of Hormuz.” U.S. forces destroyed at least one spotter boat in the preceding week.

The incidents have continued to disrupt commercial traffic through one of the world’s busiest energy chokepoints. No additional sinkings were confirmed in the immediate hours after the latest reports.