Adds details of third attack
A total of three vessels came under attack in Mideast Gulf waters earlier today, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.
In its latest update, UKMTO said it received a report at 02:05 GMT on 11 March from the master of a bulk carrier operating 50 miles northwest of Dubai, saying the vessel had been hit by an unknown projectile. The crew were reported safe and no environmental impact was noted. Authorities are investigating.
UKMTO said earlier that it had been notified at 04:35 GMT that the crew of a cargo vessel were evacuating after it was hit by an unknown projectile 11 miles north of Oman in the strait of Hormuz, resulting in a fire onboard. Shipping sources said the vessel was the 30,197dwt Mayuree Naree, which is controlled by Precious Shipping, according to Kpler.
Prior to that, UKMTO said it received a report at 01:58 GMT today from a container vessel that had sustained damage from a suspected — but unknown — projectile 25 miles northwest of Ras al-Khaimah in the UAE. All crew were safe.
Today's three reported incidents are the latest in a spate of such attacks on vessels in the Mideast Gulf since the US and Israel carried out strikes on Iran on 28 February. Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks on targets in neighbouring Mideast Gulf states, including logistical and energy facilities.
The retaliatory strikes have severely disrupted shipping through the strait of Hormuz — the main export route for Mideast Gulf oil and LNG. Before the war began, around 14mn b/d of crude and 6mn b/d of refined products transited the waterway.
UKMTO said it has received 17 incident reports involving vessels in the Mideast Gulf, the strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman since the conflict started. These included 13 attack reports and four reports of suspicious activity.
US energy secretary Chris Wright said on 8 March that ship traffic through Hormuz 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".
The attacks took place a day after US president Donald Trump claimed that the strait of Hormuz "is going to remain safe". Trump offered US naval convoys for crude and LNG tankers passing through Hormuz, but his senior military commanders have indicated that they are only beginning to plan for that contingency. The US military is now focusing on eliminating the threat of mining Hormuz. But drones and missiles were responsible for attacks on tankers in the Mideast Gulf since the war began.
