Container ship GFS Pride sinks in Strait of Hormuz; Pakistan warns ships of floating containers

The Singapore-registered container ship GFS Pride sank in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday after it was struck by an unidentified projectile and caught fire, CNBC reported. All 21 crew were evacuated safely and no injuries were reported, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, which called the attack "unprovoked, unjustifiable and a breach of international law".

Pakistan's maritime authorities issued a navigation alert after the sinking, warning ships that containers were floating in the water, a hazard for other ships in the area.

A second ship hit the same day

Another Singapore-flagged container ship, the GFS Giselle, was also hit by an unidentified projectile on Wednesday. Its hull was damaged, but it reached a safe anchorage and none of its crew was hurt.

The GFS Pride is the third commercial ship sunk since the Iran war began, according to the UN's International Maritime Organization.

Who did it?

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said early on Wednesday that a container ship had exploded and sunk after hitting a naval mine, according to the state news agency Tasnim. The maritime security firm Marisks said there was no independent evidence that a mine caused the sinking, and described Iran's claims as consistent with a "psychological operations campaign" to discourage shipping through the strait.

The numbers behind the attacks

• More than 20 ships, most of them oil tankers, have been attacked this month in Hormuz, the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre.
• Two sailors are missing and more than a dozen injured in this month's attacks, the IMO says.
• Crude exports through Hormuz averaged 8.5 million barrels a day in the week to 12 October, nearly 40% below pre-war levels, according to Kpler. Flows swing wildly: 3 million barrels on Monday against 6 million on Friday.

Earlier this week, Iran's Guards also said they had hit a supertanker that switched off its transponder.

What it means for fuel in Pakistan

Almost all of Pakistan's imported LNG and much of its oil comes through Hormuz, as we explained in why your gas bill is exposed. Prices are now set daily by OGRA: from today, petrol is Rs 393.86 a litre (up Rs 1.20) and diesel Rs 396.65 (down 17 paisa), according to the Petroleum Division notification reported by Dawn. Every attack that cuts tanker traffic feeds into those daily numbers. Track them on our petrol price page and work out your monthly bill with the fuel cost calculator.