Ship in Strait of Hormuz hit by unidentified projectile, engine room damaged, casualties reported
A ship was hit by an unidentified projectile while leaving the Strait of Hormuz, causing damage to the engine room and reported crew casualties. Local shipping continues to be severely disrupted amid the deadlock in the US-Iran peace talks.
Quick Look
- The UK Maritime Trade Action Office said that a ship was hit by an unidentified projectile while leaving the Strait of Hormuz, causing damage to the engine room and reports of casualties.
- At the same time, the deadlock in the US-Iran peace talks has resulted in the number of ships passing through the Straits of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb continuing to remain at a low level.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb are important global energy transportation routes. Recently, shipping has been severely disrupted by geopolitical conflicts and deadlocks in peace talks.
(Central News Agency, Dubai, 18th Comprehensive Foreign News Report) The UK Maritime Trade Operations Office (UKMTO) received a notification today that a ship was hit by an unidentified projectile while leaving the Strait of Hormuz, causing damage to the engine room and reported crew casualties. The remaining crew members are receiving assistance from the Oman Coast Guard.
Reuters reported that the UK Maritime Trade Action Office stated that it had not received any notification of environmental impact and that relevant units were investigating the incident.
The accident occurred at a time when shipping in the Strait of Hormuz was still severely disrupted, with the number of ships passing through remaining in single digits, far below the level of more than 130 ships per day before the war began.
On the other hand, according to preliminary shipping data released today, as the US-Iran peace talks have reached an impasse, the number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday increased slightly from the weekend, but it was still in the single digits.
Data from ship tracking company Kpler showed that six commodity ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, with three leaving the Persian Gulf and three entering, compared with a 10-day average of 11. Three ships passed through on the 15th, and two ships passed through this waterway on the 16th.
No very large crude carriers (VLCCs) or tankers carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) were passing through at the time, the data showed.
Some ships may have passed through the strait with their transponders turned off, and these ships are not included in the statistics.
According to data, the very large gas carrier (VLGC) "Xavia" entered the Strait of Hormuz via the Iranian route without loading cargo. This type of very large gas carrier is usually used to transport liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) such as propane and butane.
The data also showed that another medium-range fuel tanker and a medium-sized oil tanker sailed into the Persian Gulf; a medium-sized liquefied petroleum gas ship, a Panamax bulk carrier, and a Panamax fuel tanker sailed out of the Persian Gulf.
Kpler data showed that in the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, 19 commodity ships passed through on the 17th, lower than the 10-day moving average of 26 ships and less than the 33 ships on the 16th.
Among these 19 ships, 5 sailed into the Red Sea and 14 sailed out.
Data shows that among the 14 ships that sailed out of the Red Sea, one was the very large tanker "Norns" carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil.
Open Questions
- What is the detailed number of casualties on the ships attacked?
- Who was behind the attack and what weapons were used?
