Cargo Ship Struck Near Strait of Hormuz by ‘Unknown Projectile’

A cargo vessel was struck by “an unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

There were no casualties or impact to the environment, the UKMTO said in a Thursday alert, adding that damage was done to the vessel’s bridge. Officials are now investigating the matter.

While the UKMTO did not attribute the attack to any nation-state or actor, the Iranian regime has launched similar attacks on commercial vessels in the region since the conflict between Iran and the United States erupted in February. The Iranian regime has not released a public statement in response to the incident on social media or through state-run news outlets as of Thursday afternoon.

The UKMTO, which is operated by the British Royal Navy, said it received a report of an incident around 7.5 nautical miles to the southeast of Dahit, which is located in the Musandam Governorate in Oman near the strait. A cargo ship was struck on its starboard side by the projectile, it said.

“Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO,” the organization’s statement added.

Earlier Thursday, however, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said commercial ships traveling in the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Gulf of Oman to the Persian Gulf, must only travel on routes designated by the Iranian regime, according to state-run media.

The semi-official IRNA media outlet said that a new shipping route “announced by certain authorities” is “unacceptable and extremely dangerous, stressing that it had been introduced without the knowledge or coordination of Iranian authorities.”

The foreign ministers of Iran and Oman held a meeting in Tehran on Thursday and, according to state-run Tasnim News, “reviewed recent developments related to maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and the proposed temporary arrangements for a 60-day period,” referring to a timetable established under a memorandum of understanding signed by U.S. and Iranian officials last week.

The memorandum also set up other provisions including the opening the strait, ending Iran’s nuclear program, and establishing a $300 billion rebuilding and investment fund for Iran, among other proposals. Over the past weekend, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and a White House delegation met with Iranian counterparts in Switzerland alongside Qatari and Pakistani mediators. The Trump administration has long said that Iran must not be able to obtain a nuclear weapon, and it also must either hand over hundreds of pounds of highly enriched uranium or dilute the material.

UKMTO WARNING 074-26 – ATTACK

Click here to view the full warning.⤵️ https://t.co/0hDEAb7xO9#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/HlPzQDLBja

— UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) June 25, 2026

The incident on Thursday came as shipping traffic around and through the Strait of Hormuz, through which previously a fifth of the world’s traded oil passed on a normal day, has been recovering since the signing of the memorandum.

A day earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that the Iranian regime had informed the administration that no tolls would be imposed on commercial traffic in the strait. Reports saying otherwise, he added, are “fake news.”

“Iran has informed the U.S. that, despite troublemaking Fake News reporting to the contrary, there are ‘no tolls, no insurance costs, & no other charges of any kind being sought or received by Iran on ships traveling the Strait of Hormuz,’” Trump wrote.