Two More Ships Attacked Near Strait of Hormuz – One Seized, One Sunk

Two more ships have reportedly been attacked near the Strait of Hormuz, including an Indian-flagged cargo ship that caught fire and sank off the coast of Oman and a ship that was “taken by unauthorized personnel whilst at anchor” — pirates who sailed it toward Iranian territorial waters.

The Indian ship was identified by maritime security firms as the MSV Haj Ali, a wooden barge about 175 feet long that was carrying livestock from the port of Berbera, Somalia, to the United Arab Emirates.

The Haj Ali was rocked by a “major explosion,” possibly caused by a drone or missile attack, which started a fire on board. The ship’s fourteen crew members were rescued by the Omani Coast Guard, but the ship sank off the coast of Oman on Wednesday, presumably with most or all of the livestock still on board.

Indian and Omani authorities did not immediately name the attacker, but it was most likely Iran, which has been using terror attacks to prevent ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz unless they submit to extortion by the regime in Tehran.

The Indian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack as “unacceptable,” and said “we deplore the fact that commercial shipping and civilian mariners continue to be targeted.”

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center (UKMTO) said on Thursday that another ship was boarded and seized while anchored about 44 miles northeast of the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The ship’s captors were reportedly taking it to an area under Iranian control.

UKMTO did not immediately identify the captured ship, but the BBC cited ship tracking data that suggested it was a Honduras-flagged cargo ship called Hui Chan. The last known position of this ship, which it broadcast on Wednesday, was roughly the same distance northeast of Fujairah as the vessel in UKMTO’s alert. 

The operators of the Hui Chan told the BBC it was “operating as a floating armory which stores weapons for security firms who protect ships at sea from attack by pirates.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday denied Iran was attacking ships, and claimed Tehran views the Strait of Hormuz as “open for all commercial vessels.”

“The Strait of Hormuz is now suffering first and most from the U.S. aggression and the blockade that they have imposed on it,” Araghchi said at the BRICS foreign minsters’ meeting in New Delhi, India.

“As far as we are concerned, the Strait of Hormuz is open for all, you know, commercial vessels, but they need to cooperate with our navy forces,” he said.

“So we have not made any obstacles. It is Americans who have made blockade, and I hope that that could be ended by the removal of this illegal blockade imposed by Americans,” he insisted.

Iranian state media contradicted Araghchi’s unlikely claims on Thursday by reporting that the Strait of Hormuz is closed to all except select Chinese ships, which will be granted safe passage “in line with the two countries’ strategic partnership.”

A Chinese supertanker called Yuan Hua Hu passed safely through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, carrying an estimated two million barrels of Iraqi crude oil.