Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, according to reports.

The ships targeted in late-night ⁠attacks on Wednesday in the Gulf near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and the Zefyros, which had loaded fuel cargoes in Iraq, two Iraqi port officials told the Reuters news agency. One Iraqi port security source said the Zefyros was flagged ‌in Malta.

“We recovered the body of a foreign crew member from the water,” one port security official said as Iraqi rescue teams continued searching for missing seafarers.

“A boat belonging to the Iraqi Ports Company rescued 25 crew members from the two vessels, and the fires are still burning on both ships,” Farhan al-Fartousi, director general of the state-run General Company for Ports of Iraq, told Reuters.

An Indian crew member on board a United States-owned crude oil tanker was killed when it was attacked near Basra, Iraq, on Wednesday, India’s embassy in Baghdad said on Thursday.

In a post on X, the embassy said the remaining 15 Indian crew members of the Safesea Vishnu have since been evacuated to a safe location.

It said the embassy was in regular contact with the rescued Indian sailors and Iraqi authorities and was offering all possible assistance.

Al-Fartousi told Iraq’s state news agency that oil ports have stopped all operations since the attacks while commercial ports continue to function.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Baghdad, Mahmoud Abdelwahed, said officials described the attack on the two tankers as sabotage.

“Iraqi officials say this is a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty given the fact this act, they say, of sabotage has happened in Iraq’s territorial waters,” Abdelwahed said.

Reuters said reports of the use of explosive-laden unmanned surface vessels, which Ukraine has used with great effect in its war with Russia, come as Iran has blocked oil shipments from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of ⁠the world’s oil and gas transits but which has been blocked since the US-Israeli war on Iran began.

Reuters, quoting two unnamed sources, also reported on Wednesday that Iran ‌has deployed about a dozen mines in the strait while US President Donald Trump said US forces had struck 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels amid warnings by Trump of severe repercussions should Iran lay mines in the key waterway for global shipping.

Strait of Hormuz sealed

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that any ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted.

Early on Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said an unidentified projectile struck a container ship, causing a small fire, 35 nautical ‌miles (64.8km) north ‌of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. The crew were reportedly safe.

The Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree dry bulk vessel was struck by “two projectiles of unknown origin” while sailing through the strait on Wednesday, causing a fire and damaging the engine room, the ship’s Thai-listed operator Precious Shipping said in a statement.

“Three crew members are ⁠reported missing and believed to be trapped in the engine room,” Precious Shipping said.

“The company is working with the relevant authorities to rescue these three ⁠missing crew members,” it said, adding that the remaining 20 crew members had been safely evacuated and were ashore in Oman.

Images shared by the Thai news outlet Khaosod English showed what were reported to be crew members of the ship after their rescue by Oman’s navy.

The IRGC said in a statement carried by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency that the ship was “fired upon by Iranian fighters”, suggesting the first direct engagement by the IRGC, which has previously fired missiles or drones.

The Japan-flagged container ship ONE Majesty also sustained minor damage on Wednesday from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles (46km) northwest ⁠of Ras Al-Khaimah in the UAE, two maritime security firms said. Its Japanese owner Mitsui OSK Lines and a spokesperson for Ocean Network Express, its charterer, said the vessel was struck while at anchor in the Gulf and an inspection of the hull revealed minor damage above the waterline.

All crew members are safe, they said, adding that the vessel remains fully operational and seaworthy. The owner said the cause of the incident remained unclear and was under investigation.

A third vessel, a bulk ‌carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile about 50 nautical miles (93km) northwest of Dubai, maritime security firms said.

The projectile had damaged the hull of the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth, the maritime risk management company Vanguard said, adding that the vessel’s crew was safe. Owner Star Bulk Carriers said the ship was hit in the hold area while it was anchored. There were no crew injuries and no listing.

The US Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry ⁠for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. (Al Jazeera)

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