adds IRGC statement on vessel seizures
Iranian forces fired on a container ship in the strait of Hormuz today, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), hours after the US extended its ceasefire with Tehran.
UKMTO, citing the container ship's master, said the vessel was approached 15 nautical miles, or 28km, northeast of Oman by an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) gunboat that opened fire with no warning. The attack "caused heavy damage to the bridge" but no injuries, UKMTO said. There were no fires or environmental damage following the attack.
Separately, a cargo ship also reported being fired on as it headed out of the strait, about eight nautical miles, or 15km, off the coast of Iran, UKMTO said today. The crew are safe and there was no damage, it said.
UKMTO did not name either of the vessels. But shortly afterwards Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement saying its naval forces had "seized" two vessels, which it said belonged to Israel.
"The IRGC Navy this morning identified two violating ships named MSC Francesca and Epaminondas, which were attempting to secretly exit the strait of Hormuz without a licence, and by committing repeated violations," the IRGC said. It accused the vessels of "tampering with navigation aid systems and jeopardizing maritime security".
The IRGC said the ships had been transferred to Iranian territorial waters for inspection of cargoes and documents. Vessel tracking data showed both vessels remaining in the vicinity of the strait.
The incidents add to a list of attacks on commercial shipping in the Mideast Gulf since the outbreak of the US-Iran war on 28 February.
The strait of Hormuz has been largely closed to navigation since early March. A brief opening last week was reversed at the weekend after Tehran reasserted control of the waterway.
The US has simultaneously imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.
The latest attacks come despite a ceasefire that US president Donald Trump said on 21 April would continue indefinitely to allow Iranian leaders time to craft a proposal to end the conflict. But the Trump administration has offered no immediate solution to address oil and gas production shut-ins across the Gulf linked to the strait's closure.
Trading firm Vitol's chief executive, Russell Hardy, said this week that the war has led to around 12mn b/d of oil supply losses, and around 4mn b/d of demand reduction.
If the disruption carries on, "the problem gets more difficult to manage, because so far we've borrowed supply from various alternatives", he said, referring to falling oil-on-water inventories and emergency stock releases co-ordinated by the IEA.
In London today, the UK and French governments will convene military planners from more than 30 countries to discuss reopening the strait to commercial shipping "as soon as conditions permit".
