Hormuz shipping crisis deepens

**MUSCAT-(Maravi Post)-**Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is facing growing danger amid escalating military tensions, with October emerging as the deadliest month for vessels since the United States-Israel war against Iran began in February 2026.

An investigative report published by Al Jazeera on October 26, 2026, reconstructs the final voyage of the Singapore-flagged container ship GFS Pride using vessel-tracking data, satellite imagery and video footage, highlighting the risks faced by seafarers navigating one of the world’s most strategically important maritime corridors.

The 222-metre vessel, operated by Dubai-based Global Feeder Shipping, departed Karachi, Pakistan, on October 1 with 21 crew members aboard before travelling towards the Gulf through waters increasingly affected by military confrontations and restrictions on commercial shipping.

The ship’s tracking signal went silent on October 4 after it reached waters off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, leaving its precise movements over the following days uncertain as vessels increasingly switched off their Automatic Identification System transponders amid security concerns.

On October 13, while reportedly heading back through the Strait of Hormuz, the GFS Pride was struck by an unidentified projectile and caught fire, according to Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority, while Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed the vessel had hit a naval mine.

All 21 crew members were evacuated safely, with no injuries reported, but the vessel sank the following day, leaving shipping containers, debris and an oil slick floating in the waters near Oman.

The incident was among four reported ship attacks in the strait on October 14, according to maritime security sources, with two other vessels operated by Global Feeder Shipping, the GFS Giselle and Al Saadiyat, also sustaining minor damage.

Al Jazeera’s investigation reported that more than 120 attacks on commercial shipping had been recorded since the war began on February 28, drawing on information from the International Maritime Organization and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, while October had already recorded 29 ship attacks.

The growing insecurity has disrupted established shipping routes, with vessels facing difficult choices between routes closer to Iran’s coast and passages nearer Oman, where the United States has been escorting an increasing number of ships.

Iran has warned that vessels crossing without its permission or deviating from designated routes risk being attacked, while overlapping Iranian and United States restrictions have further complicated maritime operations in the region.

The crisis has also driven up insurance costs for shipowners, with war-risk premiums for transiting the strait reportedly rising from about 0.25 percent of a vessel’s value before the conflict to between 7.5 and 10 percent by July, according to sources cited in the report.

Seafarers remain among those most exposed to the danger, with the United Nations estimating that about 6,000 crew members are stranded near the Strait of Hormuz and the International Maritime Organization reporting at least 24 seafarer deaths in attacks on ships in and around the waterway since the war began.

Despite the risks, commercial vessels continue to make the crossing because of the waterway’s importance to international trade and the financial incentives offered to some crews working in designated high-risk areas.

The sinking of the GFS Pride underscores the growing threat to international maritime transport, as continued attacks, competing restrictions and uncertainty over safe passage place pressure on shipping operators and expose crews to potentially fatal dangers.

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