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In brief:
- Iran has fired at a container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
- Separately, a cargo ship off Iran was fired on and stopped in the water.
In a concerning incident off the coast of Oman, an Iranian gunboat opened fire on a container ship on Wednesday. This development was confirmed by a British maritime security agency, alongside reports of another ship being targeted near Iran.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre detailed that the captain of the container ship reported an approach by a vessel from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The gunboat subsequently fired on the ship, causing significant damage to its bridge. Fortunately, no fires erupted and there was no environmental damage reported.
The incident occurred approximately 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman. Despite the attack, all crew members aboard the container ship were unharmed, according to the UK agency.
Further insights from Vanguard Tech, a British maritime security firm, revealed that the vessel in question was flying the Liberian flag. It had been granted permission to navigate through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a crucial maritime passage.
However, contrasting reports emerged from the Iranian news agency Tasnim, which claimed that the ship had disregarded warnings issued by Iran’s armed forces.
In a separate incident, a cargo ship eight nautical miles west off Iran was fired upon and stopped in the water.
It was unclear who had targeted this ship.
“A master of an outbound cargo ship reports having been fired upon and is now stopped in the water. Crew are safe and accounted for. There is no reported damage to the vessel,” UKMTO said.
Vanguard identified it as the Panama-flagged containership Euphoria, which it said was “transiting outbound of the Strait of Hormuz”.
“It remains unclear whether she has resumed transiting,” the firm said.
Marine Traffic showed that the ship was headed from the Jebel Ali port in the UAE to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
Shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz has been heavily restricted by Iran since the start of the war with Israel and the United States, while the US military is enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports.
US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the truce between the two countries would be extended after it first took effect on April 8.
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