A vessel struck off the coast of the United Arab Emirates has caught fire and been abandoned by its crew, in the latest sign of how quickly maritime risks are escalating across the Gulf.
According to reports from UKMTO and Vanguard Tech, the vessel was hit by an unknown projectile while anchored around 11 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan. The impact triggered a fire on board. Vanguard said a Cook Islands-flagged tanker rescued 15 crew members from the burning vessel, although the ship’s master was still missing.
In a separate incident off Qatar, the offshore support vessel Halul 50, which flies the Qatari flag, was struck by falling debris around four nautical miles east of Ras Laffan. The debris damaged a bridge window, but no structural damage was reported and the crew were said to be safe.
The incident came as Iran launched an attack on the Ras Laffan Industrial Complex, home to the world’s largest natural gas plant, in what was described as retaliation for an Israeli strike on the South Pars gas site earlier in the conflict.
Meanwhile, the container ship Safeen Prestige, which has been drifting in the Strait of Hormuz since being struck on 4 March, was reported to be on fire again on 18 March. Maritime risk analysis firm MARE said satellite imagery showed flames on board the vessel, although it remains unclear whether the latest fire resulted from another strike or from internal damage stemming from the original incident.
The Safeen Prestige case has already turned deadly. On 6 March, the UAE-flagged tug Mussafah 2 was struck while attempting to assist the damaged container ship, killing four crew members and seriously injuring three others.
Taken together, the incidents underline how rapidly the threat picture has deteriorated for ships operating in and around the Strait of Hormuz, with both direct strikes and secondary hazards now affecting merchant traffic.
