A cargo ship was struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, the first attack on a vessel using a new UN-backed transit route, as Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned it would target ships that cross without Tehran's permission. Oil prices edged higher on the supply disruption risk.
A Singapore-flagged container ship was hit by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on a new UN-backed route Thursday, the first such attack since Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned it would target vessels crossing without its permission. Oil prices edged up about 1% after the incident, with Brent crude climbing back above $73 a barrel after briefly dipping below its pre-war level earlier in the session.
"The only authorised route for passing through the Strait of Hormuz is the one declared by the Islamic Republic of Iran," the IRGC's naval arm said in a statement carried by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency. "Vessel traffic outside these routes is extremely dangerous and prohibited. Violators will be dealt with."
The vessel — identified by maritime security firm Vanguard as the Ever Lovely, a container ship owned by Taiwan-based Evergreen — was struck 7.5 nautical miles off Oman's coast near the port of Dahit, the UK Maritime Trade Operations center said. The projectile hit the ship's bridge, causing structural damage but no casualties or environmental impact, the UKMTO added. Another maritime security source said the vessel was likely targeted by a drone, though no group has claimed responsibility.
The attack threatens to derail the fragile reopening of the world's most important oil chokepoint, through which about a fifth of all global oil and natural gas flows. Last week, 125 vessels crossed the strait, up from just 33 the week prior, according to Lloyd's List Intelligence. Wednesday saw 78 transits, the most since the war between Iran and the US-Israeli coalition began on Feb. 28, though still well below the pre-war daily average of 130 or more.
The new route and Iran's response
The transit corridor was laid out by Oman in coordination with the International Maritime Organization, a UN agency, as an alternative to the central strait passage that Iran mined after the Feb. 28 strikes. Oil tankers led by the Stoic Warrior vessel sailed along the UAE and Oman coasts early Thursday, passing close to Oman's Musandam Peninsula. The shipping company Maersk said its container ship, the Maersk Baltimore, and another chartered vessel successfully exited the strait on Thursday.
"Opportunistic operators — and there are many of them — emboldened by the lower transit risk, or at least the perceived lower transit risk, have begun chasing the backlog of trapped cargoes," said Richard Meade, editor-in-chief at Lloyd's List.
Iran's IRGC said the route was established without notice or coordination with Tehran, calling it "unacceptable and completely dangerous." On Wednesday, the Guard threatened one tanker over the radio, with a soldier warning "You are in range of my missiles and maybe I fire on you," according to private security firm Ambrey.
Diplomatic stakes and market implications
The attack comes as the US and Iran negotiate an interim peace deal under a memorandum of understanding signed last week, with 60 days to finalize terms covering shipping through the strait and the future of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile. US Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that IRGC and US Central Command representatives will be posted in Doha to settle disputes, opening a direct channel with Tehran's elite military branch.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meeting Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers in Bahrain, said Washington would ensure no tolls are charged on ships transiting the strait and that the Oman route must remain open. "If that stops, then we're going to have a problem," Rubio said.
The previous escalation in the strait — Iran's mining of the central corridor after the Feb. 28 strikes — trapped hundreds of vessels in the Gulf and contributed to oil's initial spike above $80 a barrel. While prices have since retreated, the attack Thursday rekindles supply risk premiums that had been fading as diplomatic talks progressed. A simultaneous flare-up in fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, where five people were killed by Israeli strikes over the past two days, adds further geopolitical complexity to the region's outlook.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
