According to foreign media reports, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said that the captain of a bulk carrier reported that his vessel was hit by an unknown projectile at 03:01 UTC on May 10, 23 nautical miles northeast of Qatar. The attack caused a small fire on board, which was successfully extinguished, and no casualties were reported.
Maritime security company “Pioneer Technology” stated that the vessel involved is likely the “Safesea Neha,” flying the flag of the Marshall Islands. The ship’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) showed it anchored in the exclusive economic zone northeast of Qatar.
This would be the second vessel hit for the New Jersey-based shipping company during the conflict between the United States and Iran.
On March 12, the tanker “Safesea Vishnu” was hit while conducting ship-to-ship transfer operations in Iraqi waters.
On May 8, the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said that U.S. naval forces struck two empty Iranian tankers in the Gulf of Oman—the very large crude carrier “Star 3” and the Suezmax tanker “Sevda”—which were attempting to break the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
Centcom stated that a U.S. Navy F/A-18 “Super Hornet” fighter jet from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) fired precision-guided weapons at the smokestacks of the two tankers, disabling them and preventing the two unruly vessels from entering Iran.
As of May 8, since the blockade of Iranian ports was imposed on April 13, U.S. forces have disabled multiple vessels and, according to Centcom, forced more than 50 ships to turn back.
Despite ongoing attacks on commercial shipping, the fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran has largely held. However, the standoff has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, though a small number of vessels have still managed to pass through this critical waterway.
According to AIS data from Pole Star Global, on May 9, the Qatari LNG carrier “Al Kharaityat” transited the Strait of Hormuz, apparently taking a new route mandated by Iran, which passes north of Larak Island, deviating from the normal Traffic Separation Scheme.
The LNG carrier then disappeared from radar and reappeared on AIS in the Gulf of Oman on May 10, heading toward Karachi, Pakistan. This is the first LNG carrier to transit the Strait of Hormuz since the war began on February 28.
Compiled and edited by Shipping Online
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