A commercial cargo ship experienced two separate blasts while navigating Gulf waters roughly 40 nautical miles from Iraq’s Umm Qasr port on Monday, with Iraqi authorities confirming at least one explosion resulted from a drone strike.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) initially reported that some type of projectile struck the vessel’s starboard side, resulting in a significant blast.
Iraqi officials later informed Reuters that a second explosion hit the same ship, which preliminary investigations indicate was caused by a drone attack.
Crew members successfully extinguished the fire that broke out on the vessel following the incidents, the officials confirmed.
Authorities have not identified who was behind the attack, and details about the targeted ship remain unavailable.
