Iran's Revolutionary Guards have released dramatic footage that appears to show a large container ship engulfed in fire, with thick black smoke pouring from its deck, listing heavily amid floating debris and containers before it slips beneath the waves south of the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel has been identified as the Singapore-flagged GFS Pride, a 2,824-TEU container ship. The IRGC Navy says it was carrying more than 2,500 containers and struck a naval mine while sailing an "unauthorized and dangerous" route, which it also calls illegal, triggering a severe fire and its sinking. Reuters, citing maritime security sources, tells a different story, reporting that the ship was hit by a projectile. The Hydrographer of Pakistan has already warned mariners about floating containers in the area, and the ship's UAE-based manager could not immediately be reached for comment.

The loss of the GFS Pride is the second vessel to sink since the US-Iran war began on February 28, according to data from the International Maritime Organization, and CBS News reports it is the first time Iran has claimed a ship went down after hitting a mine. It comes just a day after UKMTO issued four separate warnings of attacks on a tanker and three container ships, pushing the month's total to 24 warnings. Iran's claim also collides with President Trump's statement in late August that US forces had cleared the strait of mines. Two senior Iranian officials told Reuters that Tehran is using new tactics against ships in the strait to keep oil prices high and influence the US midterm elections. With the mine-or-missile question unresolved and little detail on the crew or the cargo, the sinking raises fresh doubts about how safe one of the world's most vital shipping lanes really is.