At least three ships were hit on Wednesday in and around the vital oil route of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a British maritime monitoring group, as the Middle East war chokes off one of the key conduits for the global oil trade.
Iran appeared to claim responsibility for at least one of the attacks. Alireza Tangsiri, the naval commander in Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards Corps, named one of the ships that was struck, the Mayuree Naree, in a post on social media, saying they had “ignored the warnings” from Iran, and “ended up getting caught.”
He added: “Any vessel that intends to pass must obtain permission from #Iran.”
The incidents came after the U.S. military said it struck 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz — though it remained unclear whether any Iranian mines had actually been deployed there.
There were three separate reports, according to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British monitoring agency. Iran fired at targets across the Middle East on Wednesday, but did not explicitly claim responsibility for the strikes on the ships.
Three strikes on ships in a single morning appeared to represent an unusual uptick: The U.K.M.T.O. said it had received reports of 13 attacks in total since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began on Feb. 28.
One cargo vessel was struck “by an unknown projectile” north of Oman in the Straits of Hormuz, resulting in a fire onboard, the agency said. The Oman News Agency said the country’s Maritime Security Center received a report indicating that the Mayuree Naree, a commercial vessel flying the flag of Thailand, was hit off the Omani coast.
“The targeting resulted in a fire breaking out in the main engine room,” the news agency said.
The ship’s stern was damaged while sailing, after it departed from the port of Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates, according to a statement from the Thai foreign ministry. Oman’s navy rescued 20 of the ship’s 23 crew members, and efforts were underway to rescue the remaining three, the statement said.
A second vessel sustained damage from a suspected projectile early on Wednesday, some 25 miles northwest of Ras al Khaymah in the United Arab Emirates, according to U.K.M.T.O. All crew members were safe and accounted for, the agency said.
A third ship, a bulk carrier, was also hit on Wednesday, some 50 miles northwest of Dubai in the U.A.E., the agency said. The crew remained safe, and authorities were investigating, the agency said.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, an official news agency, shared images on social media on Wednesday showing smoke billowing from ships, with a caption saying that it showed “the consequence of unauthorized passage through the Strait of Hormuz.” It was not immediately clear whether the ships had been targeted or when the images were taken.
Iran’s barrage of missiles and drones has hit both civilian and military infrastructure in countries across the Middle East. Iran had threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the U.S. and Israeli military strikes, using the chokepoint as leverage to pressure its adversaries and signal its readiness to escalate.
The attacks pose a major challenge to global shipping because of the Strait’s economic importance. The 90-mile-long waterway is one of the world’s most important energy shipping lanes, carrying about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.
Sanam Mahoozi, Aaron Boxerman and Sui-Lee Wee contributed reporting.
Abdi Latif Dahir is a Middle East correspondent for The Times, covering Lebanon and Syria. He is based in Beirut.
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