Projectile strike hits ship near Hormuz Strait

Shafaq News- Middle East

A cargo ship was hit by projectile fragments near the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday after Iran warned vessels must obtain permission before crossing the strategic oil shipping route.

In a statement, German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd said fragments struck the Liberia-flagged container ship Source Blessing, which it has time-chartered to Danish shipping group Maersk. The vessel was not directly hit but caught fire after fragments landed on board. All crew members were safe and extinguished the blaze.

While the source of the fragments was not identified, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy, Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, has warned any ship intending to cross the Strait of Hormuz must first obtain permission from Iran. Earlier today, the IRGC targeted a US oil tanker in Gulf waters after the vessel allegedly ignored Iranian naval warnings.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, carrying roughly 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. Iran's Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani earlier said the waterway would either remain a “strait of peace and prosperity for all” or become “a strait of defeat and suffering for warmongers.”