Three cargo ships hit in Strait of Hormuz

Three cargo ships have been hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Thailand-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree was struck and set on fire 11 nautical miles north of Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said.

Oman’s navy rescued 20 crew members who evacuated the ship in a lifeboat on Wednesday morning, while three remain missing.

A second ship, the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Star Gwyneth, was hit by a projectile 50 miles north-west of Dubai. The vessel suffered hull damage but all crew members are safe.

A third vessel, a Japan-flagged container ship, sustained minor damage near the United Arab Emirates.

It is not immediately clear who launched the projectiles at the ships or whether they were struck with missiles or drones.

But Iran has claimed control of the shipping lane, a critical route for 20 per cent of global oil shipments, and threatened to strike any vessel passing through it.

Traffic ​through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped rapidly since ‌the Iran war began nearly two weeks ago.

The Iranian regime is seeking to pressure the US by destabilising the global economy.

Oil prices swung sharply after the attacks, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) reportedly proposed the largest-ever release of oil reserves.

The US said it had destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels amid reports that Tehran had begun placing explosives in the Strait. Iran has the capacity to lay hundreds more, intelligence sources told CNN.

Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, said the strikes were part of the “most intense” raid on Iran since the war began on Feb 28.

Despite the attacks on more than 14 ships in the Strait, the US military has so far refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the area.

The US navy has insisted that the risk of attacks is “too high” and has been unwilling to provide support for commercial interests in the region, according to Reuters.

During regular briefings with the shipping and oil industry, the US navy said it is unable to provide escorts for the time being.

Sources have said that the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed as a result.

Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said it was “certainly not good for the British economy to have trade disrupted” as a result of the Middle East crisis.

Appearing before Parliament’s treasury committee on Wednesday, the Chancellor said it would be “unwise to speculate” about the impact of the Iran conflict on inflation, growth or interest rates, but added that the Treasury is “looking at a number of scenarios”.

Ms Reeves told MPs: “It’s certainly not good for the British economy to have trade disrupted, and especially when so much oil and gas comes from that part of the world.

“But the best thing that we can do as a Government is to seek to de-escalate this conflict.”

The Strait of Hormuz became a site of embarrassment for the Donald Trump administration on Tuesday, following the posting and deletion of a tweet by Chris Wright, the US energy secretary.

Oil prices swung wildly when Mr Wright wrote on X that the US navy had “successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure oil remains flowing to global markets”.

However Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, later had to confirm the post was false.

Despite the clarification, the market had already been disrupted, with the price of Brent crude moving from a low of $82 (£61) to as high as $92 (£68) per barrel as a result of the conflicting reports.

On Wednesday, Germany and Japan both confirmed they would release oil reserves to ease pressure on prices.

Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s prime minister, told reporters: “Without waiting for a formal decision on coordinated international stock releases with the IEA, Japan has decided to take the lead in easing supply-and-demand in the international energy market by releasing strategic reserves as early as the 16th of this month.”