A container ship sank near Hormuz and a bulk carrier is reported sinking. Iran vows to fight on.
A Singapore-flagged container ship sank near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday after being hit by a projectile, maritime security sources told Reuters, and a bulk carrier damaged in an earlier attack was reported to be sinking. All 21 crew members on the GFS Pride were safely evacuated, gCaptain reported, and no deaths were reported. Iran said it will keep fighting until the United States accepts its demands, with no sign of an end to the seven-month war.
Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority said the GFS Pride was damaged, caught fire and sank, and that no Singaporean nationals were on board. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy said the ship, which it said carried more than 2,500 containers, hit a naval mine while taking an unauthorized route, and it alleged the vessel carried contraband. gCaptain reported that no evidence for the mine claim has been provided. The GFS Pride’s sister ship, the GFS Giselle, was damaged in the same wave of attacks and reached anchorage. TimesLIVE reported that the bulk carrier is the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged Cape Dao, which was hit on Sept. 23. Its sinking has not been confirmed.
International Maritime Organization data cited by Reuters shows the GFS Pride as at least the second vessel to sink since the war began on Feb. 28. The Maltese-flagged container ship Safeen Prestige sank in March after being hit by a projectile, gCaptain reported. The sinkings follow one of the most intense periods of attacks since the conflict began. UK Maritime Trade Operations counted 12 vessels attacked between Oct. 5 and 11, including six on Sunday alone, and reported that a tanker and a 50,000-tonne container ship were struck by unknown projectiles on Tuesday. IMF PortWatch recorded two transits through the strait on Oct. 11, compared with a pre-crisis baseline of about 85 a day. The waterway normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil.
Two senior Iranian officials told Reuters that Iran is using new tactics against shipping to keep oil prices elevated and to influence the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections. One of them said such vessels would be safe nowhere, even outside the strait, according to The National. Rear Adm. Ali Azmaei of the Revolutionary Guards Navy warned Tuesday that Iranian forces would sink U.S. warships approaching the strait, according to Iran International. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran does not want an endless war or prolonged negotiations but will not stop until Washington yields, according to Al Jazeera. The war began Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, and Iran has restricted transit through the strait in an effort to gain leverage over Washington, Reuters reported.
This report is based on information from Reuters, Al Jazeera, gCaptain, Iran International, The National, TimesLIVE and Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority.