IMO records 113 incidents in Strait of Hormuz area — Cyprus Mail
The International Maritime Organization has recorded 113 confirmed incidents in the wider Strait of Hormuz area, including near Oman, since the start of the Middle East conflict on February 28. As of October 14, 24 seafarers had been killed as a result of these events, Cyprus Mail reports.
On October 14, the Singapore-flagged container ship GFS Pride sank off the coast of Oman after being hit by a projectile. The vessel caught fire and lost propulsion, but all 21 crew members were evacuated. Another Singaporean container ship, GFS Giselle, sustained hull damage but reached a safe anchorage, and its crew was unharmed.
In October, the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier Cape Dao also sank after being attacked twice near Khasab, Oman, on September 23. An Indian seafarer was killed in the attack, while 26 other crew members were rescued.
Decline in traffic through the Strait of Hormuz
According to maritime intelligence company Windward, 45 vessels were attacked in the Persian Gulf between July and September, compared with 25 in the previous quarter. Tankers accounted for 87% of all targets. The average number of daily transits through the Strait of Hormuz fell to 24 in the third quarter, compared with approximately 138 before the conflict.
More than half of the vessels that passed through the strait in September did not transmit Automatic Identification System signals. This complicates the monitoring of commercial shipping in the region.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Attacks near Bulgaria and Romania
On October 13, the Guinea-Bissau-flagged cargo vessel HS Dignity sank about 17 nautical miles off Bulgaria after a drone strike. Of the 16 crew members, five were rescued and 11 were considered missing. On the same day, the Malta-flagged vessel Chelsea-3 was attacked near the Bulgarian coast; all 15 seafarers survived.
On October 14, Bulgarian authorities halted the search-and-rescue operation for the missing HS Dignity crew members due to worsening weather. On October 15, two chemical tankers were hit near the Sulina Channel in Romania. A fire broke out aboard the San Marino-flagged Wine Trader: five seafarers were rescued and seven were missing. The Comoros-flagged tanker Yara J was damaged, but its crew was unharmed.
Romanian authorities initially did not name those responsible for the strikes, while a NATO military source linked them to drones of the Russian Federation, an aggressor state. On October 17, Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down two drones over the country's territorial waters. According to Windward, about 86 commercial vessels were attacked in the Black Sea in the third quarter of 2026, compared with 23 during the entire first quarter of the year.
The attacks are increasing shipowners' costs for war-risk insurance, security measures, and longer routes. The International Maritime Organization called for civilian vessels and their crews to be protected and for safe passage along international sea routes to be ensured.
