Six ships attacked amid reports of Iranian drones…

● Iraq reportedly suspends oil terminal operations after two oil tankers were hit by explosive-laden boats in Iraqi waters.

Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them on fire and killing a crew member, after shells hit four ships in Gulf waters, according to reports.

The ships targeted in Wednesday’s overnight attacks in the Gulf near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and Zefyros, which had loaded cargoes of fuel in Iraq, two Iraqi port officials told the Reuters news agency. An Iraqi port security source said the Zefyros was flying the flag of Malta.

“We have recovered the body of a foreign crew member from the water,” a port security official said, as Iraqi rescue teams continued to search for other missing seafarers.

“A boat belonging to the Iraqi Ports Company rescued 25 crew members of the two ships, and fires continue to burn on both ships,” Farhan al-Fartousi, director general of the state-owned General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI), told Reuters.

An Indian crew member aboard a US-owned oil tanker was killed Wednesday when it was attacked near Basra, Iraq, the Indian embassy in Baghdad said Thursday.

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The embassy is in regular contact with the rescued Indian sailors and the Iraqi authorities and offers all possible assistance.

Al-Fartousi told Iraq’s state news agency that oil ports have completely halted operations following the attacks, while commercial ports continue to operate.

Al Jazeera correspondent in Baghdad, Iraq, Mahmoud Abdelwahed, said the attack on the two tankers was described as sabotage by officials.

“Iraqi officials say this is a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, given that this act, they say, of sabotage occurred in Iraq’s territorial waters,” Abdelwahed said.

Reuters said the reports of the use of unmanned surface vessels laden with explosives, which Ukraine has used to great effect in its war with Russia, come as Iran has blocked oil shipments from transiting the key Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes but has been blocked amid the US-Israel war with Iran.

Reuters, citing two anonymous sources, also reported Wednesday that Iran has deployed about a dozen mines in the strait, while U.S. President Donald Trump said U.S. forces had struck 28 Iranian minelaying ships, amid Trump’s warnings of severe repercussions should Iran lay mines in the key global shipping waterway.

Strait of Hormuz sealed
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that any ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted.

Early Thursday morning, the United Kingdom’s Center for Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said an unidentified projectile struck a container ship, causing a small fire, 35 nautical miles (64.8 km) north of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. The crew was reported safe and sound.

The Thai-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree was hit by “two projectiles of unknown origin” as it sailed through the strait on Wednesday, causing a fire and damaging the engine room, the ship’s Thai-listed operator, Precious Shipping, said in a statement.

“Three crew members are ⁠reported missing and believed to be trapped in the engine room,” Precious Shipping said.

“The company is working with the relevant authorities to rescue these three missing crew members,” it said, adding that the remaining 20 crew members have been safely evacuated and are on shore in Oman.

Images shared by Thai newspaper Khaosod English show what they say were crew members of the ship after the rescue by the Omani navy.

The IRGC said in a statement carried by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency that the ship was “attacked by Iranian fighters,” suggesting the first direct engagement by the IRGC, which had previously fired missiles or drones.

The Japanese-flagged container ship ONE Majesty also suffered minor damage on Wednesday from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles (about 46 kilometers) northwest of Ras Al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, two maritime security companies said. Its Japanese owner Mitsui OSK Lines and a spokesman for Ocean Network Express, its charterer, said the vessel was hit while at anchor in the Gulf, and an inspection of the hull revealed minor damage above the waterline.

All crew are safe, they said, adding that the vessel remains fully operational and seaworthy. The owner said the cause of the crash is unclear and is under investigation.

A third ship, a bulk carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile about 50 nautical miles (about 93 km) northwest of Dubai, maritime safety companies said.

The shell had damaged the hull of the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth, marine risk management firm Vanguard said, adding that the ship’s crew were safe. Shipowner Star Bulk Carriers said the vessel was hit in the hold area while it was anchored. There were no injuries to the crew and no lists.

The US Navy has rejected almost daily requests from the shipping industry ⁠for military escorts across the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war against Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

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