Ships attacked in Strait of Hormuz amid efforts to re-start peace talks

Planned ceasefire talks in Pakistan failed to materialise

Tankers and bulk carriers anchored in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday (AP Photo)

A second ship has come under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, the British military said, just a short time after Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a container ship.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO) did not immediately identify who shot at the second ship.

However, suspicion immediately fell on Iran, whose paramilitary Revolutionary Guard earlier opened fire on the container ship.

In the second attack, the cargo ship said it had been fired upon and was stopped in the water. There was no reported damage to the vessel.

The attacks come days after the US seized an Iranian container ship after shooting at it this past weekend and boarded an oil tanker associated with Iran’s oil trade in the Indian Ocean.

The UKMTO said no one was hurt and there was no environmental impact from the attack when the first ship was hit earlier.

Iran’s semi-official Fars and Tasnim news agencies, believed to be close to the Guard, both reported on the attack, citing the UKMTO.

Fars went further to describe Iran as “lawfully enforcing” its control over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of the world’s crude oil and natural gas once passed.

However, the strait had been considered an international waterway for the world’s shippers despite being in the territorial waters of both Iran and Oman.

It comes after the US seized an Iranian container ship after shooting it at the weekend and boarded an oil tanker associated with Iran’s oil trade in the Indian Ocean.