The formerly attacked bulk carrier Mayuree Naree (IMO: 9323649) on Friday ran aground (got stuck in shallow waters) off Iran's Qeshm Island.
This has placed a spotlight on the (roughly) 20 ships that have been attacked since the start of the war in the Gulf—now more than a month old—as many others await permission to exit the Hormuz Strait safely.
According to the Mayor of Ramchah, a village on Qeshm, the bulk carrier had drifted across the strait and had run aground on the southern coast of the island, at a point north of Larak Island.
He added that no crew members had been found aboard the ship, as per a report from Iran's semi-official news agency Tasnim.
This comes weeks after the Mayuree Naree was attacked on March 11 by two projectiles of unknown origin, as it transited the Hormuz Strait en route to Gujarat's Deendayal Port.
According to a statement at the time from the ship's operator, Precious Shipping, the attack had caused a fire and damaged the engine room of the vessel.
"Three crew members are reported missing and believed to be trapped in the engine room," it said, adding that the remaining 20 crew members had been safely evacuated and were ashore in Oman.
A day later, the US-owned crude oil tanker Safesea Vishnu (IMO: 9327009) also suffered an attack of unknown origin, leading to the death of at least one crew member (an Indian national).
15 other Indian-origin crew members were also evacuated to a safe place after the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel was attacked near Iraq's Basra, the Indian Embassy in Baghdad had said.
To make matters worse, a number of reports also claim that the UAE-linked container ship Safeen Prestige (IMO: 9593517), which was attacked back on March 4, is still burning—indicating that the threat of abandoned vessels is not just limited to economic and geopolitical dimensions, but also environmental.
However, THE WEEK could not independently verify whether the Safeen Prestige is at anchor or is drifting in the area.
A salvage tug had been sent to the Maltese-flagged vessel two days later, but it too was struck, killing at least four of its seven-member crew, a Maritime Executive report said.