{"id":30417,"date":"2026-03-12T05:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T05:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=30417"},"modified":"2026-03-12T05:32:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T05:32:03","slug":"six-vessels-were-attacked-in-the-gulf-strait-of-hormuz-as-war-puts-merchant-ships-on-the-front-lines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=30417","title":{"rendered":"Six vessels were attacked in the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, as war puts merchant ships on the front lines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Iranian boats attacked two tankers in Iraqi waters, Iraq port security officials said<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Iraq oil ports stop operations, an official said<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Thailand-flagged bulk carrier damaged off Oman<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Japan-flagged container ship and Greek-owned bulk carrier sustain minor damage<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member on Wednesday, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, said port, maritime \u200bsecurity and risk firms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The latest attacks on ships linked to the U.S. and Europe mark an escalation in the conflict between&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/iran\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Iran<\/a>&nbsp;and U.S.-Israeli forces, raising the number of ships struck in the region since&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/combatants-mideast-war-trade-more-air-strikes-iran-clamps-down-dissent-2026-03-11\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fighting<\/a>&nbsp;began \u200cto at least 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war.&nbsp;Sign up&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/newsletters\/reuters-iran-briefing\/?location=article-paragraph&amp;redirectUrl=%2Fworld%2Fcargo-ship-hit-by-projectile-strait-hormuz-crew-evacuates-2026-03-11%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shipping in the Gulf and along the narrow&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/cargo-ship-hit-by-projectile-strait-hormuz-crew-evacuates-2026-03-11\/L8N3ZY1F\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Strait of Hormuz, opens new tab<\/a>, which carries around a fifth of the world&#8217;s oil, has come to a near-standstill since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Iran on February 28, sending global oil prices surging to highs not seen since 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/iran-bets-endurance-energy-disruption-outlast-us-israel-2026-03-10\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards<\/a>&nbsp;have said that if attacks on Iran continued, they would not allow &#8220;one litre of oil&#8221; to be shipped from the Middle East to the U.S., Israel or their partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trump warned Washington would strike Iran harder if it blocked oil exports, and said oil companies should use the \u200bstrait because &#8220;just about all of (Iran&#8217;s) navy is gone.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The vessels targeted in Wednesday&#8217;s late-night attacks in the Gulf near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and the Malta-flagged Zefyros, which had loaded fuel cargoes in Iraq, two Iraqi \u200bport officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iraq&#8217;s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) said the Safesea Vishnu was chartered by an Iraqi company contracted with SOMO, and that Zefyros was loaded with condensate products from \u2060Basra Gas Company. Both were attacked in the ship-to-ship loading area within Iraqi territorial waters, SOMO said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">IRAQI OIL PORTS CLOSED<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Iraq\u2019s oil ports have completely stopped operations following the assaults, while commercial ports continue to function, Iraq&#8217;s state news agency said, citing the \u200bhead of the state-run General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the crew of one ship had been evacuated and were reported safe.<video muted=\"\" poster=\"https:\/\/ajo.prod.reuters.tv\/api\/v2\/img\/69b2262fe4b02ebad979c1c5\" src=\"blob:https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/e02df89c-55a2-44a3-b6fa-918c87896bfe\"><\/video><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;A boat belonging to the Iraqi Ports Company rescued 25 crew members from the two \u200bvessels, and the fires are still burning on both ships,&#8221; Farhan al-Fartousi, GCPI&#8217;s director general, told Reuters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iraqi rescue teams continue searching for other seafarers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe recovered the body of a foreign crew member from the water,\u201d one port security official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Safesea Vishnu&#8217;s commercial operator and beneficial operator are Safesea Transport Group and Safesea Group, respectively, according to data from Lloyd&#8217;s List Intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those U.S.-based companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One Iraqi port security source said Zefyros is flagged in Malta and provided Reuters with a list of crew names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lloyd&#8217;s List Intelligence data showed UK-based Cygnus Tankers \u200bLimited as the commercial operator and the George &amp; Vassilis Michael family group of companies, a key player in Greek shipping, as the beneficial owner of a tanker matching that name and flag registry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cygnus Tankers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. \u200bReuters was not able to immediately reach the beneficial owner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS HAVE SAID SHIPS WILL BE TARGETED<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Iran&#8217;s Revolutionary Guards have repeatedly warned that any ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two projectiles of unknown origin struck the Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree dry bulk vessel \u200cas it sailed \u2060through the strait earlier on Wednesday, causing a fire and damaging the engine room, the ship&#8217;s Thai-listed operator Precious Shipping&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/markets\/companies\/PSL.BK\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">(PSL.BK), opens new tab<\/a>&nbsp;said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Three crew members are reported missing and believed to be trapped in the engine room,&#8221; Precious Shipping said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The company is working with the relevant authorities to rescue these three missing crew members,&#8221; it said, adding that the remaining 20 crew members had been safely evacuated and were ashore in Oman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Images provided by the Thai navy showed smoke pouring out of the back of the ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iran&#8217;s Guards said in a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency that the ship was &#8220;fired upon by Iranian fighters&#8221;, suggesting the first direct engagement by the Guards who have previously fired missiles or drones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The U.S. Navy has refused near-daily requests from the \u200bshipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz \u200bsince the start of the war on Iran, saying \u2060the risk of attacks is too high for now,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/us-navy-tells-shipping-industry-hormuz-escorts-not-possible-now-2026-03-10\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sources familiar with the matter told Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trump has said the U.S. is prepared to provide naval escorts&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/us-considering-oil-tanker-insurance-support-ease-middle-east-crude-shipments-2026-03-03\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">whenever needed<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">THREE OTHER SHIPS SUSTAIN MINOR DAMAGE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Japan-flagged container ship ONE Majesty also sustained minor damage on Wednesday from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles (46 km) northwest of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, two maritime security firms \u200bsaid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Its Japanese owner, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/markets\/companies\/9104.T\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">(9104.T), opens new tab<\/a>\u00a0and a spokesperson for Ocean Network Express, its charterer, said the vessel was struck while at anchor in the Gulf and an inspection of \u200bthe hull revealed minor damage above \u2060the waterline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All crew are safe, they said, adding that the vessel remains fully operational and seaworthy. The owner said the cause of the incident remained unclear and was under investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A third vessel, a bulk carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile approximately 50 nautical miles (92.6 km) northwest of Dubai, maritime security firms said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The projectile had damaged the hull of the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth, maritime risk management company Vanguard said, adding that the vessel&#8217;s crew were safe. Owner Star Bulk Carriers said the ship was hit in the hold \u2060area whilst anchored. There \u200bwere no crew injuries and no listing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Early on Thursday, UKMTO said an unidentified projectile struck a container ship, causing a small fire, 35 nautical miles \u200bnorth of Jebel Ali in the UAE. The crew were reported safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Guards&#8217; statement included a reference to another ship, which it said was hit by projectiles &#8211; usually a reference to drones &#8211; on Wednesday morning. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm that report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reporting by Jonathan Saul and Enes Tunagur in London, \u200bYannis Souliotis and Renee Maltezou in Athens, Panarat Thepgumpanat in Bangkok and Kentaro Okasaka in Tokyo, Tala Ramadan, Nayera Abdallah in Dubai, Hatem Maher in Cairo and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Louise Heavens, Philippa Fletcher, Michael Perry and Tom Hogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reference Link:- <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/cargo-ship-hit-by-projectile-strait-hormuz-crew-evacuates-2026-03-11\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/cargo-ship-hit-by-projectile-strait-hormuz-crew-evacuates-2026-03-11\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member on Wednesday, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, said port, maritime \u200bsecurity and risk firms. The latest attacks on ships linked to the U.S. and Europe mark an escalation in the conflict [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[27554,27860,27858,27859,27477,27857],"class_list":["post-30417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sample-category","tag-iran-war","tag-merchant-ships","tag-ships-under-attack","tag-six-vessels-under-attack","tag-strait-of-hormuz","tag-supply-of-oil-gas-halted","post_format-post-format-aside"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30417"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30420,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30417\/revisions\/30420"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}