A large cargo ship was attacked on Sunday by several small vessels as it transited the Strait of Hormuz, about 11 nautical miles west of Sirik, Iran, according to the Maritime trading operations in the United Kingdom center.
The captain of the northbound bulk carrier reported the attack to UKMTO, which said all crew were safe and no environmental impacts were reported. Vessels in the area were advised to navigate cautiously and report suspicious activity while authorities investigate.
The incident took place near one of the world’s most sensitive maritime chokepoints and comes amid heightened tensions over Iranian threats to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media reported that Tehran’s latest peace proposal to the US says the strait should be governed and controlled by Iran.
“What is certain is that we will not step back from the Strait of Hormuz, and it will not return to its pre-war state,” Ali Nikzad, deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament, said on Sunday.
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The US military has enforced a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz even during the ceasefire. (US Central Command)
Location is important because territorial waters typically extend up to 12 nautical miles from a country’s coastline. But under international maritime law, foreign-flagged ships are allowed to make innocent passage through territorial seas as long as they do not engage in threatening behavior, fishing or other prohibited activities.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea says coastal states can claim a territorial sea of up to 12 nautical miles, while allowing foreign ships “innocent passage” through those waters.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack. The ship was not publicly identified in the initial UKMTO alert.
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Iran has previously used fast attack boats to harass or seize ships in and around the strait. Sunday’s incident follows a series of maritime attacks in the region during the ongoing conflict involving Iran, the US and Israel, with commercial shipping repeatedly intervened.
The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and is an important route for global energy transport. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has described this area as a critical oil chokepoint, and roughly one-fifth of global petroleum fluid consumption has passed through this situation in recent years.
A cargo ship sails towards the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf on April 22, 2026. (AP photo)
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The UKMTO alert did not specify whether the small vessel was Iranian, and authorities continued to investigate.
