Cargo vessel struck by projectile, catches fire, left adrift, UKMTO says
The report comes hours after separate word of a new incident in the Strait of Hormuz, with UKMTO giving no further detail on either vessel.
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Map: The Gulf and Hormuz, marking Strait of Hormuz
UKMTO said a cargo vessel was struck by an unknown projectile, caught fire and is now adrift. The organisation has not identified the ship, its flag, its cargo or its location, and has not said whether anyone on board was hurt.
UKMTO separately reported a new incident in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday. It gave no details on the vessel involved or the nature of that incident, and it is not clear whether the two reports describe the same ship.
The reports follow a string of similar attacks in the strait. On Monday, a tanker transiting the waterway was struck by an unknown projectile, leaving two crew members with minor injuries, according to UKMTO, as reported by Marinelink. On August 4, a cargo ship hit by a projectile in the strait was the 26th such incident reported to UKMTO since July 1, according to The Hill. Al Jazeera reported that as of August 18, daily vessel crossings through the strait had fallen to single digits, down from more than 130 a day before the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran.
The pattern points to an escalation in both the frequency and the geography of these incidents, which now appear to extend beyond the Strait of Hormuz toward the Red Sea region. Repeated strikes in quick succession tend to push up the risk premium built into shipping costs and insurance on the routes affected, squeezing margins for carriers and importers that depend on them.