The UK Royal Navy’s Maritime Trade Organization said that ships in the area ‘are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.’
A cargo vessel was struck by “an unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
There were no casualties or impact to the environment, the UKMTO said in a Thursday alert, adding that damage was done to the vessel’s bridge. Officials are now investigating the matter.
While the UKMTO did not attribute the attack to any nation-state or actor, the Iranian regime has launched similar attacks on commercial vessels in the region since the conflict between Iran and the United States erupted in February. The Iranian regime has not released a public statement in response to the incident on social media or through state-run news outlets as of Thursday afternoon.
The UKMTO, which is operated by the British Royal Navy, said it received a report of an incident around 7.5 nautical miles to the southeast of Dahit, which is located in the Musandam Governorate in Oman near the strait. A cargo ship was struck on its starboard side by the projectile, it said.
“Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO,” the organization’s statement added.
Earlier Thursday, however, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said commercial ships traveling in the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Gulf of Oman to the Persian Gulf, must only travel on routes designated by the Iranian regime, according to state-run media.
The semi-official IRNA media outlet said that a new shipping route “announced by certain authorities” is ”unacceptable and extremely dangerous, stressing that it had been introduced without the knowledge or coordination of Iranian authorities.”
The foreign ministers of Iran and Oman held a meeting in Tehran on Thursday and, according to state-run Tasnim News, “reviewed recent developments related to maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and the proposed temporary arrangements for a 60-day period,” referring to a timetable established under a memorandum of understanding signed by U.S. and Iranian officials last week.
