The Singapore-flagged container ship GFS Pride was struck while transiting the strait on Oct. 13, caught fire and later sank. Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority said all 21 crew members were evacuated safely and no injuries were reported. A second Singapore-registered vessel, GFS Giselle, was hit the following day, suffered hull damage and reached a safe anchorage under its own power with all 22 crew members safe.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the GFS Pride had struck a naval mine while using what it called an unauthorized route and described the ship as carrying more than 2,500 containers. Singaporean authorities described the incidents as projectile strikes, while US Central Command said the GFS Pride was hit by an Iranian projectile rather than a mine. The differing accounts leave the precise cause of the sinking disputed.
The wreck has also fueled rumors about valuable cargo. Images circulating online falsely depicted luxury goods, including iPhones, and prompted people in fishing boats to search floating containers and debris. The reported presence of cargo in the water reflects the immediate practical danger created by a sinking ship in a heavily trafficked passage, while the authenticity and contents of individual containers have not been established.
The attacks have extended beyond container ships. UK Maritime Trade Operations reported that a tanker was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired from a small boat about 78 nautical miles northeast of Saudi Arabia’s Jubail, damaging its aft port quarter. By Oct. 16, the maritime monitor said six of the 12 confirmed vessels had continued to their destinations or reached port, one had sunk, two were disabled and three were damaged or had an unconfirmed outcome.
The disruption is affecting energy flows through the chokepoint. Before the war, roughly one-fifth of global oil and natural-gas flows passed through the strait.
The United States says its forces and regional partners still control the waterway and that hundreds of ships and 100 million barrels of oil moved through it during the week. Iran has repeatedly warned vessels against using routes it has not approved, while the US military has guided ships nearer Oman’s coast. The immediate next step for operators is continued caution and incident reporting as authorities investigate the attacks and assess the risks to vessels, crews and cargo.