A CONTAINERSHIP has been struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, hours after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy warned vessels not to use the southern route approved by the International Maritime Organization this week.

UKMTO did not name the vessel in its report, but Lloyd’s List understands it to be Singapore-flagged, 2015-built, 8,488 teu, Evergreen-owned Ever Lovely (IMO: 9629110).

The containership was hit 7.5 nautical miles southeast of Dahit, Oman, at around 1410 hrs on June 25. The bridge was damaged in the incident, but the master reported no casualties and no environmental impact.

Ever Lovely was transiting the strait alongside fellow Evergreen vessels Ever Lotus (IMO: 9604122) and Ever Unicorn (IMO: 9196967). Evergreen’s three containerships, which had been held in the MEG since late-February, appear to have sailed via the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz in a line, although with a distance of at least 10 miles between each ship. The convoy included a containership owned by Evergreen’s compatriot container line Wan Hai Lines.

The line was led by the 5,652 teu Ever Unicorn and followed by Ever Lovely. The latter vessel was being followed by Wan Hai Lines 4,300 teu Wan Hai 501 (IMO: 9294848), with Ever Lovely’s sistership Ever Lotus the last ship in the line.

The strike follows an IRGC Navy statement issued via official media Sepah News on Thursday, claiming that “some authorities” announced a new route for Hormuz transit “without notifying or coordinating with” Iran.

It didn’t name any entity involved in what it called an “unacceptable and completely dangerous” plan.

“The only permitted route for passage through the Strait of Hormuz is the routes announced by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the IRGC said, adding that vessel movements outside those routes were “highly dangerous and prohibited”.

At least two vessels performed U-turns on their way out of the Middle East Gulf on Wednesday. Both were using the southern route closest to the Omani coastline.