Three commercial vessels were struck by “unknown projectiles” near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center.
The attacks come after both Israel and Iran launched another set of airstrikes overnight, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) deeming its recent launch as its “most intense operation” since the start of the conflict.
According to reports sent to UKMTO, one of the ships informed the center that it had been struck 11 nautical miles north of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz. The strike led to a fire onboard and forced the crew to evacuate.
Two other ships were reported, with one being struck by a projectile about 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and another off the coast of the UAE.
Thailand’s Ministry of Transport confirmed on Wednesday that a Thai container ship was one of the vessels struck while traversing the Strait of Hormuz. According to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, the Thai-flagged container ship, “Mayuree Nare,” departed from the UAE with 23 crewmembers onboard. Twenty crew members were rescued, with three unaccounted for.
Officials believe that the three missing sailors were on duty in the engine room when the projectile struck the ship and caused a fire in the section of the vessel.
Concurrently, the IRGC confirmed the strikes on the three vessels along the maritime chokepoint in a statement, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency.
The IRGC revealed that it struck the “Mayurree Nare” after “disregarding warnings and insistently attempting to illegally pass through the Strait of Hormuz.”
In addition, the IRGC announced that it attacked the Liberian-flagged ship “Express Rome” with Iranian projectiles “after ignoring warnings from the IRGC Navy.”
The UKMTO has shared that it has received 17 reports of incidents involving ships operating near the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman since the launch of the joint military operations by the U.S. and Israel that began on Feb. 28.
Of those 17 reports, 13 have been attack reports and four reports of suspicious activity.
