▲ The Strait of Hormuz on October 13 (local time)
Two cargo ships owned by a United Arab Emirates shipping company that were previously attacked in the Strait of Hormuz have sunk consecutively over the past 24 hours, the U.S. daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on October 14 (local time).
The successive sinkings occurred as Iran has intensified its attacks on commercial vessels to the highest level since the outbreak of the war, aiming to disrupt U.S. military operations supporting Gulf region crude oil transport through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the WSJ, Pakistan's National Hydrographic Office, which monitors maritime activity in Middle Eastern waters, announced on the same day that the UAE-owned cargo ships GFS Pride and Cape Dao had sunk.
Maritime security firms also confirmed the sinkings of the two vessels, noting that no such cases had occurred in recent months.
The container ship GFS Pride was hit by an unidentified projectile on October 13 in waters approximately 1.8 kilometers east of Ras Markbut, Oman.
Crew members safely evacuated after a fire broke out, but the ship sank the following day.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) released footage believed to be of the GFS Pride sinking, claiming that the vessel was carrying 2,500 containers filled with contraband and passing through a "dangerous" route.
The Cape Dao sank about three weeks after its port side was struck by two projectiles on September 23 in waters approximately 27.8 kilometers northeast of Khasab, Oman.
One Indian crew member died on the vessel, which was transporting approximately 170,000 tons of coal from the UAE to India at the time.
While fires or hull damage on commercial vessels due to Iranian attacks have been frequent in the past, cases resulting in sinkings have been rare.
The previous commercial ship sinking before this occurred about seven months ago in March.
At that time, the Malta-flagged container ship Seifin Prestige was struck, causing a fire in the engine room before it sank.
With its crude oil export routes blocked by the U.S. maritime blockade, Iran has significantly increased attacks targeting commercial vessels around the Strait of Hormuz.
According to maritime intelligence firm Windward AI, commercial vessel attacks in the Strait of Hormuz area reached 12 last week, setting a weekly record since the outbreak of the Iran war.
The number of ships attacked this month has also reached approximately 24, already surpassing the total number of ships hit during the entire month of September.
In addition to the GFS Pride, two container ships and one oil tanker were additionally attacked on October 13.
Most of the vessels recently attacked were passing through the southern route near Oman under U.S. protection.
According to commodity data firm Kpler, while U.S. blockades have effectively halted Iran's crude oil exports, crude exports from other countries in the region had recovered to around 18.2 million barrels per day before recent attacks intensified.
U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on October 12 that the U.S. Navy had completely taken control of the Strait of Hormuz and completely blockaded Iranian ports.
However, Ali Azmaei, commander of the IRGC Navy, retorted on the same day, saying, "If the Americans want to know whether the Strait of Hormuz is open or closed, they should come and enter the area themselves," adding, "We will respond to violators and will not mince words."
Michelle Bejer Bockmann, a maritime intelligence analyst at Windward AI, analyzed that "these attacks show that the range and targets of attacks have expanded significantly over the past 96 hours," noting that the increase in Iranian attacks coincides with the expansion of crude oil transport through the Strait of Hormuz and the weakening of Iran's control.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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