The GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus flagged container ship, was struck by an unidentified projectile early Sunday while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to Cyprus's Deputy Ministry of Shipping. The crew abandoned the vessel by lifeboat, and the Oman Navy later rescued 23 seafarers. One Indian crew member, holding the rank of third engineer, remains missing as of Monday.
Cypriot authorities said the towing team is actively conducting a search operation for the missing engineer while the damaged vessel is pulled toward Khor Fakkan, the nearest safe anchorage. The Deputy Ministry described the projectile source as unidentified in its formal statement to Reuters, stopping short of assigning blame while the search continues.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy said its forces halted the ship after it and other vessels attempted to transit through what the IRGC called an unauthorized route despite warnings, and accused the crew of switching off tracking systems. Hours later the US military launched a new round of strikes against Iran, the latest turn in a widening confrontation over commercial transits through the Gulf.
The attack on the Galaxy is the first confirmed strike on a commercial container ship inside the Strait since renewed hostilities began, and it comes as war risk premiums for Gulf transits have climbed sharply. INTERTANKO reported last week that tanker transits through the southern route of Hormuz had dropped to single digits per day.
About a fifth of global oil trade moves through Hormuz, and container operators had continued box liftings from UAE and Oman ports on the assumption that boxships were not being targeted. The Galaxy strike removes that assumption, and underwriters are already repricing hull war cover for any vessel calling at Gulf terminals regardless of cargo type.