By: OrePulse

A container feeder ship sank and another was damaged in separate strikes in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz region this week, the latest in a series of attacks on commercial shipping that the International Maritime Organization says have hit vessels in the area since late February.

The 2,824-TEU feeder GFS Pride, operated by Dubai-based Global Feeder Shipping and flagged in Singapore, was struck by an unidentified projectile on Tuesday, caught fire and sank near Ras Shaykh Masud off the coast of Oman, according to Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA). The MPA said all 21 crew members were evacuated without injury. Containers from the vessel, built in 2008, were reported floating in the area.

A second Global Feeder Shipping vessel, the 4,400-TEU GFS Giselle, sustained hull damage in a separate strike on Wednesday. The ship, built in 2015, reached a safe anchorage under its own power, and all 22 crew members were unharmed, the company said.

Safeen Feeders' Al Saadiyat was also struck while on an outbound transit but reportedly escaped serious damage. Separately, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) recorded an attack on a tanker identified by security firm Vanguard Tech as the Alfonso; the vessel's condition was not confirmed.

The bulk carrier Cape Dao, a 170,000-deadweight-ton capesize vessel, sank nearly three weeks after being struck off Oman's Musandam peninsula on September 23. One Indian seafarer was killed in that incident, and the IMO now records the ship as sunk.

Accounts of responsibility for the latest strikes diverged. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said a containership had struck a naval mine after deviating from an authorized shipping route, while Singapore's MPA described the GFS Pride as having been hit by a projectile.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces destroyed a vessel it described as an Iranian-affiliated dhow in the Gulf of Oman on October 6, alleging the vessel had been used for surveillance and to help target US warships. CENTCOM said the dhow's crew was removed before the vessel was destroyed.

The IMO has recorded 113 confirmed maritime incidents in the region since the conflict began in late February, with 24 seafarers killed, according to the organization's tally.