Second dry bulk vessel sinks in Strait of Hormuz within a day
The ship went down after being struck by a projectile, the second total loss of a commercial vessel in the strait in 24 hours.
Published
Map: The Gulf and Hormuz, marking Strait of Hormuz
A dry bulk ship has sunk in the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by a projectile, maritime security sources and UN shipping agency data show.
The run of incidents has built over several weeks. UK Maritime Trade Operations logged a container ship struck by an unidentified projectile on October 11. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said a supertanker was hit days earlier, the third such strike in roughly 72 hours, and said the vessel had switched off its navigation system and ignored warnings while trying to leave the strait. A report citing UKMTO and Iranian sources said seven vessel strikes had been logged since late September, with transit running at close to two vessels a day.
Trump has said 28 million barrels move through the strait in a day, and separately said Putin had pledged over 300,000 tons of diesel supply immediately, alongside a claim of US control of the strait. Oman has tied any resolution to stalled US-Iran talks, and no deal to reopen normal transit is in sight.
Back-to-back sinkings, coming after the container ship and tanker incidents reported in the prior days, mark a shift from isolated strikes to a run of total losses in the strait. That pattern sits awkwardly against the claims of record throughput and of US control that have been made in recent weeks, and it leaves crude oil's existing risk premium exposed to further strikes as the gap between official statements and conditions on the water widens.