Two vessels appear to have come under attack in the vicinity of the strait of Hormuz, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said today.
The UKMTO received a report of an incident 25 miles northwest of Ras al-Khaimah, the northernmost of the UAE's seven emirates at 05:58 local time (01:58 GMT). A container vessel "sustained damage from a suspected but unknown projectile," according to its master. The extent of the damage is currently under investigation by members of the crew, who are all safe.
A separate alert by the UKMTO flagged a second incident 11 miles north of Oman in the strait of Hormuz at 08:35 local time (04:35 GMT). A cargo vessel was reported to have been "hit by an unknown projectile in the strait of Hormuz, which has resulted in a fire onboard." The crew members were being evacuated from the vessel, the UKMTO said.
The identity of the vessels are still unclear.
These are just the latest in a spate of attacks on vessels in the Mideast Gulf since the US and Israel carried out strikes on Iran on 28 February. Iran has responded by launching missile and drone attacks against a range of targets in neighboring Arab Gulf countries, including logistical and energy-related facilities.
The retaliatory strikes against its neighbours have also effectively halted shipping through the Mideast Gulf and the strait of Hormuz ꟷ the waterway through which 14mn bl of crude and 6mn bl of refined products transited daily before the war began.
US energy secretary Chris Wright said on 8 March that ship traffic through the waterway should begin moving again soon.
"We're not too long away, I think, before you'll see more regular resumption of ship traffic through the strait of Hormuz," Wright told CNN. While it may take some time for normal traffic to resume "worst case, that's a few weeks, not months."
