Bulk carrier Cape Dao sinks weeks after Hormuz strike

Three weeks after being struck by a projectile near the Strait of Hormuz, the bulk carrier Cape Dao sank on October 14.

The Antigua and Barbuda-flagged ship was hit on September 23. One crew member died in the strike. The rest of the crew evacuated immediately. The Cape Dao sat disabled in the Gulf of Oman while salvage teams worked on it, but the effort failed.

The Cape Dao is the third ship to sink in or near the strait since the US-Iran war began in February 2026. The GFS Pride, a Singapore-flagged container ship, went down near Hormuz the same week. Earlier in the year, the Maltese-flagged Safeen Prestige, struck in March, also eventually sank.

The manager of the Cape Dao, UAE-based Peonies Shipmanagement FZE, could not be reached for comment.

Attacks in and around the waterway have intensified sharply in recent weeks. Over 20 ships have been struck in and around the strait this month. In early October, the Liberia-flagged tanker Lipsi was hit by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, the sixth tanker struck in a single week.

Crude oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 8.5 million barrels a day in the week ending October 12, about 40 percent below pre-war levels, according to analytics firm Kpler.