Second Ship Targeted in Strait of Hormuz as Gulf Maritime Tensions Intensify
Dubai — A second commercial vessel came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the British military said, shortly after Iranian forces were reported to have opened fire on a container ship in the same waters.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which monitors shipping security in the region, said the cargo vessel reported being fired upon and subsequently halted in the water.
No injuries or environmental damage were reported, and the ship sustained no apparent damage.The UKMTO did not identify who carried out the second attack. However, the incident followed an earlier episode in which Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was reported to have opened fire on a container ship, prompting immediate suspicion toward Tehran.
The incidents come amid heightened tensions in the Gulf, days after U.S. forces seized an Iranian container vessel following an exchange of fire and boarded an oil tanker linked to Iran’s oil trade in the Indian Ocean.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical global transit route for energy supplies, and any disruption to shipping there is closely monitored by governments and markets worldwide.
Iranian authorities did not immediately comment on the reported attacks.
