LONDON, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Two commercial vessels were reportedly fired upon in separate incidents near the Strait of Hormuz, with all crew members safe, according to warnings issued Wednesday by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
The UKMTO said it had received a report of an incident about 8 nautical miles west of Iran. The master of a cargo ship outbound from the Gulf reported that the vessel came under fire and was stopped in the water.
All crew members are safe and accounted for, and there are no reports of damage to the vessel, it said.
In a separate incident, a container ship was fired upon by a gunboat believed to be linked to Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps off the coast of Oman, damaging the vessel's bridge.
The ship's master reported that the gunboat approached and opened fire without issuing any VHF challenge, the UKMTO said.
All crew members are safe, and no fire or environmental damage has been reported, it added.
The International Maritime Organization has warned that the situation remains volatile and urged vessels to exercise maximum caution when transiting the area. ■
