GFS Pride sinks in Strait of Hormuz after strike; all 21 crew evacuated

GFS Pride, a Singapore-registered container ship, sank in the Strait of Hormuz after an incident on Tuesday, 13 October, that damaged the vessel and caused a fire. Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority said all 21 crew members were evacuated and no injuries were reported. Accounts differ on what struck the ship, as attacks on vessels using the waterway increase.

The BBC reported that the ship was hit by an unknown projectile while transiting the strait. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards gave a different account, saying it had hit naval mines while taking what they described as an unauthorised route. The reporting does not resolve which account explains the damage or establish who was responsible. The incident occurred on Tuesday; the supplied accounts do not establish a separate precise time for the sinking.

Where GFS Pride sank and what mariners were told

The Hydrographer of Pakistan warned mariners that GFS Pride had sunk about four nautical miles, or 7.4 kilometres, north-west of Ras al-Sheikh Masud on Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, according to the BBC. That position places the reported wreck in the waterway used by ships moving between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Its location matters to other crews navigating a strait where further vessel strikes have been reported.

The BBC also reported that UK Maritime Trade Operations received reports from two unnamed container ships struck by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz between 16:40 and 17:00 GMT on Tuesday. Those reports form part of the account of danger to commercial traffic that day; the available reporting does not identify both ships in the UKMTO notice. The evacuation of everyone aboard GFS Pride prevented reported injuries in its case, while the damage and subsequent sinking show the consequences for the vessel itself.

A second Singapore-flagged ship was struck

The recent pattern is broader than these two ships. Al Jazeera reported that UKMTO recorded 15 attacks from 6 to 14 October, including 11 in the preceding four days. It also cited Kpler data showing 10 tankers struck in the strait between 28 September and 4 October, followed by another strike on 5 October. Those figures describe different periods and vessel groups, so they should be read as measures of continuing incidents rather than added into one total.

CNBC, citing UKMTO incident reports, said more than 20 vessels, mostly oil tankers, had come under attack during October across Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It reported that the International Maritime Organization counted two sailors missing and 12 injured in the month’s attacks. Those casualties concern the wider series of incidents, not the GFS Pride crew, for whom Singapore reported no injuries.

Why the attacks matter for Hormuz oil shipments

The strait is a major route for energy shipments as well as container traffic. Al Jazeera reported that about 125 large commercial vessels used it each day before the war and that shipments through the passage accounted for roughly 20% of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. Disruption there therefore affects ships carrying different cargoes, and the reported strikes come as operators face a sustained security risk along the route.

Al Jazeera, citing Kpler, said Gulf oil flows through Hormuz excluding Iran recovered in September to more than 81% of their pre-war level. More recent crude figures indicate pressure on that recovery: CNBC reported Kpler’s estimate that exports averaged 8.5 million barrels a day in the week ending 12 October, nearly 40% below normal pre-war levels. The measures cover different periods and scopes, but together show why renewed vessel attacks are consequential for shipping and energy markets.