A Singapore-registered 2,824 TEU container ship has sunk in the Strait of Hormuz after being struck by an unknown projectile on 13 October. All 21 crew were evacuated safely. The hull, and roughly 2,800 slots' worth of box capacity, are now on the seabed.

GFS Pride caught fire after the strike and could not be saved. The ship is managed by UAE-based GFS Ship Management FZE, and Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) confirmed it is monitoring the situation with the manager directly.

The MPA didn't mince words. "MPA is deeply concerned about the continued attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz," the authority said.

It went further: "Such attacks are unprovoked, unjustifiable and a breach of international law. All actions affecting international shipping must fully comply with international law and must not endanger the safety of seafarers and ships at sea."

One sinking, then a second strike in 48 hours

The follow-up came fast. On 14 October, another Singapore-registered boxship, GFS Giselle, was hit by an unknown projectile while transiting the same strait. She sustained hull damage but made it to a safe anchorage under her own power.

All 22 crew aboard GFS Giselle are safe. No Singaporean nationals served on either vessel, the MPA confirmed.

The dry bulk fleet hasn't been spared either. The Antigua and Barbuda-flagged Cape Dao was reportedly sinking near the strait after a projectile attack on 23 September, maritime security sources told Reuters.

Reuters also reports that attacks around the waterway have increased sharply over the past 10 days. The loss of GFS Pride makes it the second vessel to sink since the conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel began on 28 February, per International Maritime Organization data.

What does this change for shippers?

For carriers calling at Gulf ports, the arithmetic is straightforward. Before the conflict, roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and LNG trade moved through Hormuz — that's one in every five barrels and cargoes of gas transiting a chokepoint now seeing regular projectile attacks.

For box operators, the risk calculus just shifted again. A 2,824 TEU feeder-class vessel is exactly the kind of ship that works Gulf relay and regional loops. Losing one to hostile fire, and damaging a second within 48 hours, raises war-risk premiums and hardens questions about crew willingness to transit the strait at all.

Forwarders with Gulf-bound cargo should expect:

• Rebookings and rolling cargo as operators reassess strait transits
• Higher insurance pass-throughs on Gulf lanes
• Possible rerouting decisions as owners weigh diversion versus schedule integrity

For seafarers, the stakes are blunter: two crews evacuated or brought to anchor in two days, and no injuries this time. That luck won't hold indefinitely.

The pattern now includes two boxships, one bulker and a sharply rising attack tempo inside ten days. Until the tempo drops, every Hormuz transit is a calculated risk — and the market will price it accordingly.