DUBAI (Reuters) – An Iranian container ship was damaged in an attack in the Mediterranean, the state shipping company said on Friday, adding that it would take legal action to identify the perpetrators of what it called terrorism and naval piracy.
The ship, Shahr e Kord, was slightly damaged in Wednesday’s incident by an explosive device that caused a small fire, but no one on board was injured, spokesman Ali Ghiasian said, according to state media.
“These terrorist acts amount to naval piracy and are contrary to international law on commercial shipping security and legal measures will be taken to identify the perpetrators through relevant international institutions,” Ghiasian said.
The ship was heading for Europe when the attack took place and will leave for its destination after repairs, he added.
The Iranian-flagged ship last reported its position off the coast of Syria on March 10 as it headed for the Syrian port of Latakia, according to tracking data from the ship Refinitiv.
Two maritime security sources said initial indications were that the Iranian container ship had been intentionally targeted by an unknown source.
The incident comes two weeks after an Israeli-owned ship, the MV HELIOS RAY, was hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman.
The cause was not immediately clear, although a U.S. defense official said the blast left holes on both sides of the ship’s hull. Israel accused Iran of being behind the blast, a charge the Islamic Republic denied.
On Friday, Israeli officials made no comment when asked if Israel was involved in the Shahr e Kord incident reported by Iran.
The ship, which is among the U.S.-designated Iranian ships under harsh sanction measures, was arrested in Libya in 2019, although the ship was later released.
A third maritime security source told Reuters that three other Iranian ships had been damaged in recent weeks by unknown causes while sailing the Red Sea.
CONTRABAN
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that Israel has targeted at least a dozen ships bound for Syria and that they were primarily carrying Iranian oil out of concern that oil profits would fund terrorism in the Middle East.
Iran, which often threatens strong retaliation for any Israeli attack, has often refused to point to Israel with repeated airstrikes on Iranian-backed forces in Syria, in an apparent effort to prevent a full-scale war with Israel.
Israeli officials declined to comment on the report, which cited unnamed regional and U.S. officials and was presented while the Biden administration reviewed policy on Iran. The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem made no immediate comment.
In a speech to Israeli navy cadets in 2019, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of increasing offshore oil smuggling to evade U.S. sanctions and said the navy body “would have a more important role in blocking these Iranian actions. “
He did not delve into what this might entail.
Israel has said separately that it is conducting a covert “war campaign” to deny Iranian allies at its border weapons and other support from Tehran.
“We do not comment on the campaign we are conducting, in operational matters,” Israeli Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi told Tel Aviv’s 102 FM radio when asked about the Journal’s report.
“But we always stress (that) we have to be positioned against Iranian belligerence on all fronts … and I guess that also includes sea and air land, as well as land.”
The Israeli navy, whose largest ships are missile corvettes and five diesel submarines, is mostly active in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
Dubai editorial reports; Additional reports by Dan Williams and Rami Ayyub in Jerusalem, Jonathan Saul in London; Edited by William Maclean and Mark Heinrich