A French container ship was struck by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, injuring several crew members and damaging the vessel, operator CMA CGM said in a statement Wednesday.
The CMA San Antonio was crossing the chokepoint when it was hit, the Marseille-based shipping group confirmed. “The injured crew members have been evacuated and are provided with the necessary medical care,” the company said. “CMA CGM is closely monitoring the situation and remains fully mobilized alongside the crew.”
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency, which monitors merchant traffic in the Gulf, separately reported a cargo ship being hit by an “unknown projectile” on Tuesday but did not initially identify the vessel.
The incident is the first confirmed attack on a French-flagged commercial vessel since the Iran–US conflict began, and it has occurred days after the United States announced a pause in its Project Freedom Hormuz escort programme. It follows the May 3 bulker attack on the Minoan Falcon and signals that strikes on commercial shipping are continuing through the diplomatic window President Donald Trump has cited as evidence of “great progress” toward an Iran deal.
CMA CGM is one of the world’s largest container shipping firms and operates a major terminal hub at the Port of Colombo. Continued attacks on Hormuz traffic raise insurance and routing costs for vessels calling at Sri Lankan ports, and feed into elevated freight premiums on Sri Lanka’s Middle East fuel imports.
The company did not disclose the cargo on board or the number of crew injured.
