A Singapore-registered container ship sank in the Strait of Hormuz after a reported strike, leaving containers adrift near Oman as attacks and reduced traffic disrupt a major shipping corridor.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said reports indicated an unidentified projectile hit GFS PRIDE during its Oct. 13 passage, Singapore time. A Joint Maritime Information Center advisory said the ship sank Oct. 14. All 21 crew members were evacuated, with no injuries reported.
The IRGC Navy said a container ship hit a mine and caught fire; the Joint Maritime Information Center said the claim lacked substantiation.
Fabricated images helped spread rumors that containers floating off Oman held valuable goods, The Guardian reported Monday. The newspaper said fishers and others approached the containers to inspect them.
Another Singapore-registered container ship, GFS GISELLE, sustained hull damage in a reported Oct. 14 strike, MPA said. The ship reached an anchorage without assistance, and all 22 crew members were safe.
In its Oct. 16 weekly overview, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported 12 vessel attacks, including 10 in the strait. Its incident data ran through Oct. 14. UKMTO also gave a combined estimate of 254 transits from Oct. 8 to 14, about 70% below preconflict levels. That figure combines 42 passages it observed with U.S.-reported facilitated transits. UKMTO said it had not verified the U.S. figures or the combined total.
The strait connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea. Based on quarterly estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, about 21.2 million barrels of crude oil, condensate and petroleum products moved through it daily in 2025, roughly one-fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption.
The IRGC has said ships must seek permission to pass through the strait. It previously claimed a tanker caught fire after a mine strike south of the waterway. MPA has described attacks on commercial shipping as a breach of international law.
