A container vessel was fired on in the Strait of Hormuz after being approached by an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) gunboat, in what marks another serious incident in the increasingly volatile waterway.
According to a warning issued by UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the incident took place at 03:55 UTC, around 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman.
UKMTO said the master of the ship reported that the vessel had been approached by a single IRGC gunboat, which opened fire without any prior VHF challenge, causing heavy damage to the bridge.
Security firm Vanguard said the ship involved was Liberia-flagged, and that the master stated the vessel had previously been informed it had permission to transit the Strait.
UKMTO added that there were no fires, no environmental impact, and that all crew members were safe.
Based on the reported location, the ship is believed to be the Epaminondas, a Liberia-flagged vessel owned by Technomar Shipping and operated by MSC, according to Pole Star Global’s PurpleTrac database.
The vessel’s AIS signal had reportedly been switched off until about 04:30 UTC.
The incident comes shortly after Linerlytica reported that six MSC vessels had succeeded in passing through the Strait with their AIS transponders disabled. At the time of that report, issued on 21 April, the exact position of the Epaminondas was not known.
