Muscat, Oman. A Cyprus-flagged container ship remained disabled off Oman after an Iranian strike caused an engine-room fire and forced its crew to abandon the vessel, while one Indian seafarer remained missing. The incident also preceded another large-scale US attack on Iran.
Strike and rescue operation
The GFS Galaxy was struck near its stern at about 22:40 UTC on Saturday while travelling east through the Strait of Hormuz, according to maritime reports. The impact extensively damaged the engine room and left the vessel unable to continue its voyage.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre located the incident about nine nautical miles east of Oman. Oman’s Maritime Security Centre said authorities responded to a distress call when the ship was about 4.4 nautical miles off Musandam, the Omani peninsula overlooking the strait.
Omani authorities rescued 23 of the 24 crew members and provided medical care. Search operations continued for the missing sailor.
India’s government said 11 Indian nationals were aboard the vessel, with 10 rescued and one unaccounted for. India’s embassy in Muscat was coordinating with Omani authorities during the search.
Cyprus investigation
Cyprus government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said no Cypriot nationals were among the crew. The Shipping Deputy Ministry has opened an investigation, remains in contact with the ship’s management company and is monitoring developments with relevant authorities.
Vessel details and voyage
The 2009-built vessel is about 304 metres long and 40 metres wide, with capacity for roughly 7,000 twenty-foot equivalent units. Shipping records list the ship under the Cyprus flag with IMO number 9401271.
The vessel is beneficially owned by the UAE’s AD Ports Group and operated by Global Feeder Shipping. It had departed Jebel Ali and was heading east on a service connecting Gulf ports with Malaysia, China and South Korea.
Its automatic identification system was reportedly switched off during the passage, reflecting growing concerns that publicly transmitted ship positions could increase vessels’ exposure to targeting.
Conflicting accounts
US Central Command blamed forces belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for what it described as an attack on a commercial ship lawfully using an international waterway.
Iran said its forces fired a “warning shot” after the ship used what Tehran described as an unauthorised route and ignored instructions to change course. The exact sequence of events and the type of weapon used have not been independently confirmed.
The incident was the fourth reported Iranian attack on a commercial vessel in the strait since July 6. Previous attacks involved the Marshall Islands-flagged LNG carrier Al Rekayyat, the Saudi-flagged tanker Wedyan and the Liberia-flagged Cyprus Prosperity.
