(AP) — Merchant ship MV Safeen Prestige, which flies the Maltese flag and owned by an Egyptian company, was hit by two missiles Wednesday afternoon while passing through the Strait of Hormuz. That’s according to Malta’s minister for transport, infrastructure and public works, Chris Bonett, speaking in Parliament.
He said that the ship caught fire, primarily in the engine room, and that the vessel suffered relatively heavy damage. However, the 24 seafarers aboard — 21 Egyptians and 3 Ukrainians — did not suffer injuries and were rescued by Oman’s navy, he said.
Earlier Wednesday, a British military agency, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, announced that the vessel was heading east through the Strait of Hormuz when it was hit by an unknown projectile, and that the ship had a fire in its engine room.
