Wall Street Journal: Two UAE Cargo Ships Sunk After Being Targeted in Strait of Hormuz Within 24 Hours; Event Marks Unprecedented Escalation / Over the Past 96 Hours, Geographic Scope and Targets of Iranian Attacks in the Strait of Hormuz Have Significantly Expanded / Tehran Widens Targets to Non-Oil Cargo
Two UAE-owned cargo ships sank within 24 hours after being targeted in the Strait of Hormuz, an event considered an unprecedented escalation amid Iran's increased attacks at levels not seen since the start of the war.
The Wall Street Journal wrote: Two cargo ships belonging to the United Arab Emirates, GFS Pride and Cape Dao, have sunk in the past 24 hours after being targeted in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the report, it is further stated in this article: Two cargo ships belonging to the United Arab Emirates have sunk after being targeted in the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours. An event that is considered an unprecedented escalation of tension in the midst of increasing Iranian attacks to unprecedented levels since the beginning of the war.
Pakistan's National Hydrographic Office, which monitors maritime activities in the waters of the Middle East, announced that both the JFS Pride and Cape Dao had sunk. Maritime security companies also confirmed the sinking of the two ships on Wednesday, saying that such an incident was unprecedented in the past few months.
The sinking of these ships occurred while the US military is escorting more oil shipments from the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.
The last ship to be sunk earlier was the Maltese-flagged container ship Safeen Prestige, which was targeted in early March. A projectile hitting this ship caused a fire in its engine room and forced the crew to leave the ship. A tug that was sent to save the ship was also attacked. According to the International Maritime Organization, four sailors were killed and three were seriously injured in this incident.
Vanguard, Marinex and Neptune maritime security companies announced that the container ship JFS Pride was hit by an unknown projectile one nautical mile east of Ras Makhbouq in Oman on Tuesday, and a fire broke out inside the ship.
According to the companies, the ship's crew was safely evacuated before it sank the next day.
The ship "Kip Dao" was attacked for the first time on September 23. At that time, two unidentified projectiles hit the left side of the ship's hull. This ship was located about 15 nautical miles northeast of Khasab in Oman at that time.
In this attack, one of the Indian crew of the ship was killed. Cape Dow was transporting about 170,000 tons of coal from the United Arab Emirates to India.
The owners of both vessels, which are based in the United Arab Emirates, did not respond to requests for comment.
Attacks on ships in the Middle East
Two other container ships and an oil tanker were also attacked on Tuesday while passing through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the UK's Maritime Trade Operations Centre, which is affiliated with the UK Navy.
Maritime intelligence firm Windward AI said on Tuesday that the number of attacks on ships around the Strait of Hormuz hit a wartime record last week, with 12 attacks against commercial vessels.
According to data from the UK Maritime Trade Operations Center and maritime security companies, around 24 ships have been attacked since the beginning of October; A figure that is more than the total number of ships attacked in the whole month of September.
On Tuesday, Iran released a video purporting to show the sinking of the JFS Pride.
Iran announced that this ship was carrying 2,500 containers of contraband and had passed through a route that it described as "permissible and dangerous".
The images obtained by Mariseks showed a submerged ship with its containers floating on the surface. According to Storyful, a company owned by News Corp, the parent company of the Wall Street Journal, this ship was the same vessel that Iran published in its video.
Vanguard also identified three other vessels that were targeted on Tuesday:
* GFS Giselle (GFS Giselle): with Singapore flag
* Al Saadiyat (Al Saadiyat): with the flag of the Marshall Islands
* Alfonso (Alfonso): with the flag of Barbados
The name of the Alphonso ship is on the black list of vessels that Iran claims have violated the country's regulations in the Strait of Hormuz. The amount of damage to these ships is not known.
The attacks came after US President Donald Trump on Monday [claimed] that the US Navy has full control of the Strait of Hormuz and has completely blockaded Iranian ports.
Most of the ships that have been attacked recently were passing through the southern passage of the Strait of Hormuz near Oman, under US protection.
"In the last 96 hours, the geographic scope and targets of the attacks have expanded significantly," said Michelle Wiese Bookman, senior maritime intelligence analyst at Windward AI.
He added that the frequency of attacks has coincided with the increase in the volume of oil that passes through the Strait of Hormuz and the decrease in Iran's control over this sea route.
According to Kepler, the volume of cargo that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, routes between Oman and the United Arab Emirates, as well as from the Red Sea, has exceeded pre-war levels.
As a result, Iran has expanded the range of its targets to non-oil cargoes as well.
Early in the war, seafarers considered container ships and dry bulk carriers relatively safe; Because the cargoes of these ships are usually less valuable compared to oil tankers.
Oil tankers can carry up to two million barrels of crude oil per trip through the Strait of Hormuz; A shipment whose value reaches about 200 million dollars.
However, last week's attacks appear to have targeted both container ships and oil tankers.
Record-breaking sea freight rates
Despite these attacks, ship owners continue to pass their vessels through the Strait of Hormuz; Because the high rates of sea transportation bring significant profit for them.
According to Steve Gordon, global head of research at Clarksons Research, crude oil tanker rates hit new records last week.
The charter rate for very large crude oil tankers, known as VLCCs, brought the global average of freight rates to $805,000 per day.
Gordon added that the rental rate of tankers carrying liquid petroleum products has also reached its highest level in history.