2 ships sink near Strait of Hormuz after projectile strikes — Pajhwok

KABUL (Pajhwok): A container ship and a dry bulk carrier have sunk near the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by projectiles in separate incidents over the past 24 hours, maritime officials said. Attacks around the waterway have increased over the past 10 days, with Iran saying it is intensifying strikes in response to the US blockade of its ports and tougher sanctions imposed last month, Reuters reported. The Singapore-flagged GFS Pride, a container ship with a capacity of 2,824 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), sank while transiting the strait, according to maritime security sources. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said the vessel was damaged and caught fire before sinking. All 21 crew members were safely evacuated, with no injuries reported. The ship was transiting the strait on Tuesday. In a separate incident, the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged Cape Dao sank near the strait, weeks after being hit by a projectile on September 23, according to data from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN shipping agency. One crew member was killed, while the rest were evacuated immediately after the strike, maritime sources said. The vessel’s UAE-based manager, Peonies Shipmanagement FZE, could not immediately be reached for comment. The GFS Pride and Cape Dao are the second and third vessels to have sunk since the US-Iran war began on…