Seatrade-Maritime: US strikes Iran fast boats, two vessels transit Hormuz

Published by Seatrade-Maritime

In a chaotic day in the Strait of Hormuz as the US launched it’s Project Freedom evacuation programme Iran struck multiple ships an oil terminal in Fujairah.

US Central Command said that two US-flagged vessels successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz in a first step of its Project Freedom mission. Maersk said that its US-flagged car carrier Alliance Fairfax transited the Strait without incident. The Alliance Fairfax is part of the US Maritime Security Programmed and owned by US-based Maersk Line Ltd.

US also said it had eliminated seven Iranian fast boats threatening commercial shipping. Iran has been using small, fast craft to swarm commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran, which has maintained a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war with US – Israel on 28 February effectively closing it to commercial shipping, responded attacking multiple ships, Fujairah oil terminal, and fired missiles at Dubai.

A drone strike on Fujairah Petroleum Industries Zone resulted in a large fire. Fujairah Media Office said three Indian nationals were injured in the attack.

As reported on Seatrade Maritime News the South Korean-owned, Panama-flagged general cargo ship HMM Namu was hit by an explosion while at anchor in OPL of Umm Al Quwain, UAE.

A tanker owned by a shipping company affiliated to ADNOC was hit by two drones in the Strait of Hormuz and the UAE said it “strongly condemned and denounced the Iranian terrorist attack”.

The were also a report from UKMTO of a vessel on fire 14 nm northwest of Mina Saqr in the UAE. Maritime security Vanguard Tech said the vessel involved was a Marshall Islands flagged tanker. The cause of the fire remains unconfirmed. 

Meanwhile US Centcom said that its blockade of Iran ports had now redirected 50 vessels since it started operation at the edge of the Arabian Sea on 13 April