Merchant vessels have come under repeated attack in the Strait of Hormuz – which connects the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea – and elsewhere in the Middle East since the US and Israel’s battle with Iran started in February.
At least 24 seafarers have been killed in 106 confirmed incidents, according to the UN’s International Maritime Organization.
The Malta-flagged container ship Safeen Prestige, which was attacked close to Oman on 4 March, is the only other vessel reported to have sunk in that time.
However, maritime risk management group Vanguard said on Wednesday that the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk provider Cape Dao was reported to be sinking after an unsuccessful rescue attempt, according to Reuters information company.
One seafarer was killed when the Cape Dao’s bridge and lodging space were hit by an unknown projectile as it transited through the Strait of Hormuz, north-east of Khasab, Oman, on 23 September.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of world oil and gasoline shipments normally go, was successfully closed after the begin of the Iran battle due to Iranian missile and drone attacks on industrial vessels and a US naval blockade of Iranian ports.
The US and Iran reached a preliminary settlement to finish the battle and reopen the strait in June, but it collapsed within weeks after Iranian attacks on transport resumed and the US reinstated its blockade.
Iran insisted it would not give up some measure of control over the waterway and started concentrating on vessels utilizing a southern route through Omani waters that avoids its most popular route through Iranian waters.
To keep exports flowing from Gulf Arab states, the US army has been offering safety for tankers shuttling oil through the Strait of Hormuz.
Last month, crude exports through the waterway rose to around 80% of pre-war ranges of 16 million barrels per day (bpd) on average, according to analysts from transport knowledge company Kpler, despite an increase in attacks on transport.
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