Dubai (AFP) – Iranian forces targeted three container ships on Wednesday, seizing two and firing on a third, global security monitors and the country’s Revolutionary Guards said, marking the latest incidents to threaten a crucial trade route in the Middle East war. The British maritime security agency UKMTO reported that an Iranian gunboat fired at a container ship off the coast of Oman, while another ship off Iran was also fired upon.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) stated separately that their naval forces stopped two ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz and directed them to Iranian waters. The IRGC accused the vessels of breaching its blockade of the route, imposed amid the Middle East war that erupted on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran. “The master of a container ship reported that the vessel was approached by one IRGC gunboat…that then fired upon the vessel, which has caused heavy damage to the bridge. No fires or environmental impact reported,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. It added that the incident took place 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman and all the crew were safe.
According to British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech, the vessel in question was sailing under a Liberian flag and “had been informed it had permission to transit the Strait of Hormuz”. Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that the ship had “ignored warnings from Iran’s armed forces”. The IRGC announced that it “this morning identified and stopped in the Strait of Hormuz two violating ships.” In a statement, the force indicated that the vessels “were seized by the IRGC’s naval forces and directed to the Iranian coast.” The IRGC named the two seized ships as the MSC-Francesca and the Epaminondas, as per Iranian broadcaster IRIB’s report on Telegram. It alleged that the Francesca was linked to Israel while the Epaminondas lacked “the necessary permits” and had been “tampering with navigation systems.” Ship-tracking platform MarineTraffic showed the two vessels—both container ships—stopped near the Iranian coast on Wednesday.
In a separate incident, a cargo ship eight nautical miles west of Iran was fired upon and subsequently stopped in the water, UKMTO reported. “A master of an outbound cargo ship reports having been fired upon and is now stopped in the water. Crew are safe and accounted for. There is no reported damage to the vessel,” UKMTO stated. Vanguard identified this ship as the Panama-flagged containership Euphoria, noting it was “transiting outbound of the Strait of Hormuz.” MarineTraffic later showed that the Euphoria had left the strait and was headed to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
Shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz has been heavily restricted by Iran since the beginning of the war with Israel and the United States, while the US military is enforcing a counter-blockade of Iranian ports. In related developments, US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the truce between the two countries would be extended after it first took effect on April 8.
© 2024 AFP
