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At least three container ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, maritime security sources and the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) have said.
The attacks mark the latest escalation in the vital shipping lane, where Iran has effectively blocked transit since the start of the regional war on February 28. The US has since imposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
A Liberia-flagged container ship suffered "heavy damage" to its bridge after being struck by gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades north-east of Oman. The UKMTO said the vessel was approached by an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boat before coming under fire. All crew were reported safe and the attack did not cause a fire or environmental damage.
Maritime security sources said three people were on board the IRGC boat. The master of the Greek-operated ship reported no prior radio contact and said the vessel had permission to cross the strait.
The UKMTO also said another container ship, sailing under a Panamanian flag, was fired on about 15km west of Iran, but did not suffer any damage. The vessel's crew are safe, it added.
A third ship, also flying a Liberian flag, was attacked in the same area while sailing from the strait. It was not damaged but stopped in the water, with all crew accounted for, maritime security sources said.
Two of the vessels were the MSC Francesca and Epaminondas, which Iran's IRGC Navy confirmed it had seized in the Strait of Hormuz and escorted to the Iranian coast. The third ship may have been the Greek-owned Euphoria.
The Guards said the ships were detained for violating maritime regulations, including operating without required permits and tampering with navigation systems. They said disrupting the safety of the Strait of Hormuz is a “red line” for Iran.
The incidents demonstrate the risks to vessels in one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints after US President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire with Iran while maintaining the naval blockade.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the operation would lead to Tehran’s main oil storage facilities on Kharg Island filling up, causing oil wells to close. “The US Treasury will continue to apply maximum pressure through Economic Fury to systematically degrade Tehran’s ability to generate, move and repatriate funds,” he wrote on social media. “Any person or vessel facilitating these flows, through covert trade and finance, risks exposure to US sanctions.”
But some Iranian oil tankers have managed to break the blockade and sail out of the Gulf in recent days, data firm Vortexa said. The Hero II and Hedy are the latest to move past the blockade, as shown through satellite imagery, Bloomberg reported.
About 20 Iran-flagged vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz between Saturday and Monday, said Ana Subasic, trade risk analyst at data company Kpler.
Mr Trump previously said that without the blockade, “there can never be a deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their country, their leaders included”. Iran is prepared to negotiate with the US after it ends its blockade, said Tehran's envoy to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani.
The latest attacks follow a period of chaos after Iranian authorities announced on Friday that the strait was open, prompting ships to attempt to sail out of the Gulf. Many of those vessels turned around when Iran closed the strait again hours later, after Mr Trump said the US naval blockade would remain in place.
The Vortexa figures suggest that Iran’s exports have continued even in the face of US threats, with at least 34 Tehran-linked tankers and gas carriers making their way through the strait since the US blockade was imposed on April 13.
TankerTrackers reported that three Iranian tankers departed the Gulf at the weekend, with one being turned around on Tuesday. It is now approaching the blockade line.
The American blockade stretches from the Omani coastline, near Ras Al Hadd, to the Iranian-Pakistani border, according to a map shown in an online video shared by the US Navy.
Of the ships that have crossed the Strait of Hormuz since early last week, 19 were heading out of the Gulf, and 17 were carrying cargo. Vortexa detected the shipments using satellite imagery, because vessels typically turn off their transponders when seeking to circumvent US forces.
The Hero II was last seen more than a month ago when it was sailing north in the Strait of Malacca, while the Hedy last broadcast its location near Khor Fakkan in late February.
More than 700 ships were still stranded in the Gulf as of Monday, Kpler data showed. Before the Iran war, about 140 ships passed through the strait each day.
