Two Cargo Ships Sink Near Hormuz --- Volume of attacks has increased as U.S. shepherds oil through the strait

“Two Emirati cargo ships have sunk in the past 24 hours after being struck in the Strait of Hormuz, an escalation with little precedent as Iran ramps up attacks to levels not seen since the war started.

 

The GFS Pride and the Cape Dao have both gone down, said Pakistan's National Hydrographic Office, which monitors maritime activities in Middle Eastern waters. Maritime security companies confirmed the two losses and said this was the first such incident in months.

 

The sinkings came as the U.S. military has been shepherding more Gulf oil through the strait, while bottling up Iranian oil exports with a naval blockade and sanctions. Iran has repeatedly ramped up attacks over the course of the war to try to disrupt the U.S. operation, but it is rare that its attacks result in ships being sunk.

 

The latest ship that sank was the Malta-flagged container vessel Safeen Prestige in March. The vessel was hit by a projectile that sparked a fire in its engine room, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel. A tugboat sent to rescue the ship was also struck. Four seafarers died and three were severely injured, according to the International Maritime Organization.

 

GFS Pride, a containership, was hit Tuesday by an unknown projectile a nautical mile east of Ras Makhbuq, Oman, resulting in an onboard fire, according to maritime security companies Vanguard, Marisks and Neptune. The crew of the vessel was safely evacuated before the ship sank the next day, they said.

 

The Cape Dao was originally attacked Sept. 23 by two unidentified projectiles that struck its port side when it was 15 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman. One Indian crew member died in the attack on the ship, which was carrying about 170,000 tons of coal from the United Arab Emirates to India.

 

Two other containerships and a tanker were also attacked Tuesday as they crossed the strait, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations, which is affiliated with the British Navy.

 

Vessel attacks around the Strait of Hormuz reached a wartime high last week with 12 attacks on commercial vessels, maritime-intelligence firm Windward AI said Tuesday.

 

About two dozen ships have been hit since the beginning of October, according to UKMTO and maritime security firms. That is more than the number of vessels struck in all of September.” [1]

 

1. World News: Two Cargo Ships Sink Near Hormuz --- Volume of attacks has increased as U.S. shepherds oil through the strait. Faucon, Benoit; Feng, Rebecca.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 15 Oct 2026: A8.