Container ship sinks near strait of Hormuz amid surge in Iranian attacks on shipping
The Singapore-flagged GFS Pride has gone down close to the strait of Hormuz and a second cargo vessel was reportedly sinking, amid the steepest rise in Iranian attacks on shipping since the US-Israel war with Iran began.
Container ship sinks near strait of Hormuz amid surge in Iranian attacks on shipping
The Singapore-flagged GFS Pride container ship has sunk near the strait of Hormuz, and the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged Cape Dao was reportedly sinking close by - losses arriving in the sharpest uptick in Iranian attacks on shipping since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran.
Two vessels lost near the strait
The GFS Pride went under on Wednesday, a day after it was attacked. The Cape Dao, meanwhile, was reported by maritime security sources to be sinking after being struck by a projectile on 23 September.
Iran's mine account and UKMTO's findings
The two sides give competing explanations for what hit the ships.
- Iran said a cargo ship sank after striking a naval mine while travelling an unauthorised passage through the strait, apparently referring to the GFS Pride.
- Iranian state television quoted an IRGC statement saying the ship was on an "illegal and dangerous route" when it hit the mine.
- The unidentified ship shown tilted and emitting smoke in the Iranian broadcast was carrying 2,500 containers, the broadcast said.
- UKMTO suggested both ships had been hit by unidentified projectiles, raising questions over Tehran's account.
A rising tempo of attacks
Monitoring bodies recorded a cluster of incidents in the days around the sinkings.
- On Wednesday, UKMTO reported at least five incidents in the previous 48 hours, including drone strikes targeting tankers and other commercial ships around Hormuz.
- Six vessels were attacked on Sunday alone, according to UKMTO's monitoring.
- Financial Times analysis counted 24 ships hit in the two weeks to 11 October, among them three refined energy product tankers and two crude oil tankers.
A maritime security source said of the strikes: "There is a tempo increase in strikes, which looks deliberate."
The political backdrop
The surge suggests Iran is trying to fully close the waterway to frustrate Donald Trump's efforts to bring down fuel prices before the US midterm elections on 3 November, which will decide control of Congress.
- Since Trump launched his war on Iran, fuel prices in the US have climbed by close to 70%, and the Republican party expects to be punished by voters over them.
- The increased tempo of attacks appears to have caused a dramatic drop in oil shipments through the strait.
- The Trump administration has blamed Ukraine's attacks on Russian refineries for the increased fuel prices, deflecting attention from the war's economic impact.
According to two Iranian officials, Iran has recently begun using new tactics against vessels it considers in violation of its restrictions, changing both the type and the pace of attacks, with one goal being to influence the outcome of the US vote. "The aim is to frustrate efforts by the United States and its allies to bring down global oil prices," one of the two officials said. The officials said the decision was taken at the highest levels of Iran's leadership and was fully coordinated across the ruling system.
The US military has also responded directly. One official, speaking anonymously, said that after the US destroyed much of Iran's radar capabilities, the IRGC began using unarmed spotters in small boats to identify potential targets, including American naval vessels. Last week the US military determined Iranian spotters were operating from a dhow calling in targets to the IRGC; US forces confronted the vessel, told its occupants to abandon ship and then destroyed it, with no casualties.
The US military has been guiding ships through the waterway on a route nearer to Oman's coast, while Iran has repeatedly warned ships against transiting the strait without its approval.
