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A bulk carrier was struck by an unknown projectile 23 nautical miles northeast of Doha, Qatar, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre reported Sunday.
Qatar's Ministry of Defense confirmed that a commercial cargo vessel in Qatari territorial waters northeast of Mesaieed Port was targeted by a drone, providing the first official attribution for the maritime incident reported earlier by UKMTO.
In a statement posted to X, the Qatari Defense Ministry said: "A commercial cargo vessel in the country's territorial waters, northeast of Mesaieed Port, coming from Abu Dhabi, was targeted by a drone on Sunday morning. The incident resulted in a limited fire onboard the vessel, with no reported injuries."
"The vessel continued its journey toward Mesaieed Port after the fire was brought under control. The necessary measures were taken, and coordination was carried out with the relevant authorities," the statement noted.
The UKMTO warning stated that the master of the bulk carrier reported being hit by an unknown projectile, which caused a small fire that was subsequently extinguished.
There were no casualties and no reported environmental impact. Authorities are investigating the source of the projectile.
Vessels in the area were advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO. The source for the advisory was the vessel's master.
Hours earlier, the IRGC Navy command issued a public warning through Fars News Agency: "Warning! Any aggression against Iranian oil tankers and commercial vessels will be met with a heavy attack against one of the American centers in the region and enemy ships."
IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Majid Mousavi said missiles and drones were "locked onto the enemy" and awaiting orders to launch.
The warning followed the U.S. Navy's disabling of four Iranian tankers over three days, including the M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda on Friday, disabled by an F/A-18 Super Hornet from the USS George H.W.
Bush firing precision munitions into their smokestacks, and the M/T Hasna on Wednesday, was disabled by cannon fire from the USS Abraham Lincoln.
CENTCOM said Saturday: "The U.S. naval blockade against Iran continues to be fully enforced. As of today, CENTCOM forces have redirected 58 commercial vessels and disabled 4 since April 13 to prevent the ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports."
Admiral Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, said forces in the Middle East remained "committed to full enforcement of the blockade of vessels entering or leaving Iran."
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The UK Defense Ministry confirmed it is deploying HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer previously stationed in the eastern Mediterranean near Cyprus, to the Middle East to pre-position for a possible U.K.- and French-led multinational maritime mission to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The vessel will stand ready to join the initiative "once conditions allow," multiple U.K. news outlets reported, citing the ministry.
The U.S. naval blockade has been in effect since April 13, targeting Iranian maritime traffic.
Trump paused Project Freedom, the U.S. military escort mission for commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, on May 6, citing diplomatic progress, while maintaining that the blockade remains "in full force and effect."
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