Ships under attack in the Gulf as Iran targets strait
ATTACKS ON SHIPS IN THE PERSIAN GULF HAVE BEEN REPORTED SINCE THE IRAN WAR STARTED ON FEBRUARY 28
MARCH 1
A crew member died on the Marshall Islands-flagged crude tanker MKD VYOM when it was hit by a shell while sailing off the Omani coast, 90 km north of the capital Muscat, manager V.Ships said.
The Gibraltar-flagged oil supply tanker Hercules Star, which provides fuel to the ships, was hit by a shell 31 km northwest of Mina Saqr in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. UKMTO said the fire caused by the attack had been extinguished.
An attack was carried out on a Palau-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, two nautical miles north of Qumzar, Oman. Oman’s maritime security center said the crew of the US-approved Skylight ship was evacuated.
MARCH 2
UKMTO said the US-flagged product tanker Stena Imperative was hit by two shells in the Bahraini port, leading to a fire and the evacuation of the crew.
MARCH 3
UKMTO said Marshall Islands crude oil tanker Libra Trader and Panama-flagged bulk carrier Gold Oak also suffered minor damage about 18km off the UAE’s port of Fujairah.
4 MARCH
The Maltese-flagged container ship Safeen Prestige was damaged by a shell while sailing towards the upper part of the strait, 4 kilometers north of Oman. According to maritime sources, the attack caused a fire in the engine room and caused the crew to abandon ship.
MARCH 5
US representative company Sonangol Marine Services said the crude oil tanker Sonangol Namibe was hit by an explosion while anchored near the Iraqi port of Khor al Zubair.
According to two port security sources in Iraq, an Iranian remote-controlled boat loaded with explosives was used to target and damage the Bahamas-flagged ship.
6 MARCH
UKMTO said a tugboat conducting operations with the Safeen Prestige ship, which was hit on March 4 in the Strait of Hormuz, 11 km north of Oman, was hit by bullets.
7 MARCH
UKMTO, citing a third party it did not name, reported a possible drone strike 18 km north of Jubail, Saudi Arabia. It was stated that most of the crew was evacuated.
MARCH 11
The Thai-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree was attacked with a missile in the Bosphorus, 21 kilometers north of Oman. The owner of the ship, Bangkok-based Precious Shipping, said in a statement that a fire broke out on the ship and caused the crew to be evacuated.
Japan-flagged container ship One Majesty sustained minor damage after being hit by a shell 46 km northwest of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE.
Maritime risk management company Vanguard said the hull of the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Star Gwyneth was damaged after it was hit by a shell 90 km northwest of Dubai. The crew were declared safe, UKMTO said.
Fuel tankers Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and Malta-flagged Zefyros were attacked in the Gulf near Iraq, causing Iraq’s oil ports to halt operations, according to port officials and the state news agency. A port security official said the body of a foreign crew member was pulled from the water.
