PR in the Philippines

(SeaPRwire) –   According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, a large cargo vessel was attacked by multiple small watercraft while passing near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, located around 11 nautical miles west of Sirik, Iran.

The captain of the northbound bulk carrier reported the attack to UKMTO, which confirmed all crew members are safe and no environmental damage has been recorded. Ships in the local area were warned to navigate with extra caution and report any suspicious activity as authorities conduct their investigation.

The incident happened near one of the world’s most sensitive maritime chokepoints, and comes amid rising tensions over Iran’s stated intention to claim full control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media reported that Tehran’s newest peace proposal to the U.S. asserts the strait must be governed and controlled by Iran.

“What we know for sure is that we will not retreat from the Strait of Hormuz, and it will never go back to its pre-war state,” Ali Nikzad, deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament, stated on Sunday.

The location of the attack is notable because territorial waters generally reach up to 12 nautical miles from a country’s coastline. Under international maritime law, however, foreign-flagged vessels are granted the right of innocent passage through territorial waters as long as they do not participate in threatening behavior, fishing, or other forbidden activities.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea states that coastal countries can claim a territorial sea extending up to 12 nautical miles, and foreign vessels are permitted “innocent passage” through these waters.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack, and the vessel was not publicly named in UKMTO’s initial alert about the incident.

Iran has previously used fast-attack boats to harass or seize ships in and around the strait. Sunday’s incident follows a string of maritime attacks in the region amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran, the U.S. and Israel, with commercial shipping repeatedly caught in the middle of tensions.

The Strait of Hormuz links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and is a major route for global energy shipments. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has called it a critical oil chokepoint, and around one-fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption travels through the strait each year in recent times.

UKMTO’s alert did not confirm whether the small craft involved were Iranian, and authorities are continuing their investigation into the incident.

Bryan Llenas and Nick Kalman contributed to this report.