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Striking visuals showing iPhones and luxury perfume bottles floating in the Strait of Hormuz have surfaced after Iran said a UAE-owned cargo ship sank following a mine strike amid a spate of attacks on commercial vessels in the region. The footage emerged days after US forces destroyed an Iranian-affiliated vessel in the Gulf of Oman, accusing it of conducting surveillance and targeting US Navy ships.
The viral video, which India Today TV could not independently verify, shows packets of perfume bottles and iPhone boxes floating in the sea near the sunken cargo ship. In the video, people in small boats pick up the goods on the sea. Initial reports suggest the Singapore-flagged container ship GFS Pride was carrying the goods from Dubai.
GFS Pride sank on Wednesday after being hit by a projectile and catching fire, maritime officials said. All 21 crew members were safely evacuated, with no injuries reported, according to Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority.
According to The Sun, the vessel was carrying around 2,500 containers, including luxury perfumes and iPhones, and that footage showed the goods scattered across the water after the sinking. Smaller boats were reportedly seen approaching the site to collect the goods.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the cargo ship sank after hitting a naval mine while travelling along what it described as an unauthorised route through the strait. However, maritime officials reported that the vessel had been struck by an unidentified projectile, leaving the precise circumstances of the sinking disputed.
The sinking of the cargo ship comes amid escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, involving Iran and the US, a key security partner of the UAE.
Separately, US forces struck an Iranian dhow on October 6 after, according to US Central Command, the vessel had been conducting surveillance and targeting US Navy ships in the Gulf of Oman. The crew were removed before the vessel was destroyed, and no casualties were reported.
In a separate incident, an Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier, Cape Dao, also sank near the Strait of Hormuz, weeks after being struck by a projectile on September 23. One crew member was killed in that attack, while the rest of the crew were evacuated, Reuters reported.
The incidents came amid a sharp rise in attacks on commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported at least five incidents, including drone strikes, targeting tankers and other commercial vessels in the area over a 48-hour period.
MANY SHIPS ATTACKED IN HORMUZ FOR PAST 10 DAYS
Attacks on commercial vessels around the Strait of Hormuz have intensified over the past 10 days, with Iran saying it is escalating strikes in response to a US blockade of its ports and tougher sanctions imposed last month.
The escalation has raised concerns over the security of the strategic waterway, through which around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed before the war.
Iran has sought to tighten its control over the strait since US and Israeli strikes on February 28, restricting maritime traffic in a bid to increase pressure on Washington.
Two senior Iranian officials told news agency Reuters that Tehran was deploying new tactics against vessels transiting the waterway, seeking to keep oil prices elevated and influence the US midterm elections on November 3.
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(with inputs from Reuters)
