The Safeen Prestige, a 1,740-TEU containership owned by Safeen Feeders, part of AD Ports Group, was hit at approximately 1109 GMT while sailing eastbound about two nautical miles north of Oman, according to maritime security reports. British maritime risk management firm Vanguard confirmed the vessel was hit in that location, sharing information with Reuters. The projectile struck just above the waterline, causing a fire in the engine room, initial reports said.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had issued an earlier warning about a container ship struck by an unknown projectile in nearly the same location, reporting an incident 2NM north of Oman transiting eastbound in the Straits of Hormuz where a container ship was hit by an unknown projectile just above the water line causing a fire in the engine room. No environmental impact has been reported and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said. AD Ports Group stated that most of its fleet is operating outside the immediate conflict zone, with the majority of its 122 shipping vessels including container, bulk, Ro-Ro, and multipurpose vessels operating outside the Strait of Hormuz.
Those currently within the Strait continue to operate intra-Gulf services, and overall, the impact on the Maritime & Shipping Cluster is expected to be limited. The attack is part of a broader pattern of maritime incidents amid escalating US-Iran tensions. Multiple maritime security incidents were reported across the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman between March 3 and March 4, according to a UKMTO Daily Summary.
The regional security environment is volatile with ongoing military activity affecting commercial shipping, UKMTO warned. On March 30, an oil tanker was struck by a projectile off the coast of Dubai, causing a fire, but the crew were safe and no environmental impact was reported, UKMTO said. In a separate incident late Monday, a vessel approximately seven nautical miles east of Fujairah, UAE, was struck by an unknown projectile, damaging the ship’s steel plating, but there was no fire or water intake, according to a UKMTO report.
A French cargo ship was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, with crew and ship damaged and injured evacuated, the shipping company told Reuters. An Emirati vessel near the Strait of Hormuz was hit by several unknown projectiles, UKMTO said, marking the second attack in the region in a few hours. The crew of the Emirati vessel were unharmed.
There were two loud bangs, alarms, smoke, and a blackout before the reserve generator started.
A cargo ship was also attacked off Sirik, southeastern Iran, on Sunday afternoon, though its identity is unknown. US-Israeli forces struck key sites in Iran at the end of February, and Iran has retaliated by targeting sites across the Middle East, including vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has effectively halted, with several hundred ships anchored in the Persian Gulf and about ten ships attacked by Iran.
However, a Greek-flagged tanker carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia sailed through without escort on Monday, Bloomberg reported. US Central Command later stated the US destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels in the area. US and Israel also attacked targets in Lebanon.
The Thai cargo ship Mayuree Naree was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz last week. Three crew members are still missing. The shipping company Precious Shipping decided the ship should sail through the strait to Kandla, India, and all 23 crew members signed a contract acknowledging the heightened security risk, which CNN obtained.
The captain was instructed to proceed at normal speed with non-essential lights off and the Thai flag visible, according to a source with insight into planning. Precious Shipping claims a comprehensive assessment was done with maritime security experts. The 20 rescued sailors were flown home to Thailand on Monday and are in good health.
Thailand's foreign minister asked Iran for help searching for the drifting ship. Iran's Revolutionary Guard claims Mayuree Naree was fired on because it illegally passed despite warnings. According to Dagens Nyheter, crew member Samut described two loud bangs, alarms, smoke, and a blackout before the reserve generator started, and said they did not know who fired on them or if warships were nearby.
We did not know who fired on us or if warships were nearby.
Iran's Parliament Security Commission approved a plan to impose tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a member of the National Security Commission. The toll plan includes safety of naval vessels, environmental issues, and prohibition of US and Israeli vessels. The head of the Iranian parliament’s construction committee, Mohammad Rezaei-Kouchi, told the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency that a draft bill to manage the Strait of Hormuz is nearing completion.
The draft bill would ban Israeli-linked ships, restrict states Iran deems hostile, and impose rial-denominated transit fees. Countries Iran deems hostile would be unable to pass without permission from the Supreme National Security Council, and those that caused Iran damage during the war would not be permitted passage until they compensate Iran. States using the waterway would have to pay fees in Iranian rials, with 30% of the revenue allocated to the armed forces and 70% to people’s livelihoods.
About one fifth of global oil trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that US forces intercepted an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman and took custody of the vessel after its crew ignored orders to stop. S.
Navy Guided Missile Destroyer USS SPRUANCE intercepted it. The Iranian crew refused to stop, so the Navy ship stopped them by blowing a hole in the engine room, Trump said. S.
Marines have custody of the vessel and are seeing what’s on board, he added. Ahead of US-Iran talks in Islamabad, Iran has agreed to hand over all of its enriched uranium stockpile, Israel Hayom reported, citing three US and regional diplomatic sources. It is still unclear who would receive the material; possible recipients include Russia, the IAEA, or the United States.
The United States was demanding to participate in the operation to locate the enriched uranium, but Iran had not yet agreed and was prepared to allow only IAEA personnel, according to the Israel Hayom report. According to US intelligence sources, Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, CBS reported. President Trump warned that Iran is laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz and if that happens, there will be military consequences.
He also said that if Iran stops oil flow through the strait, they will be hit twenty times harder. A preliminary ceasefire between the US, Israel, and Iran was agreed on the night of April 8.