British military says crew abandons container ship earlier attacked by Iran

DUBAI, Jul 12 : In the Strait of Hormuz attack, a Cyprus-flagged container ship was hit by Iran and suffered "significant engineroom damage" and a civilian crew member is missing, US Central Command said.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre, overseen by the British military, said the ship had been travelling in a route hugging the shoreline of Oman.

That's been the way ships have gotten in and out of the Persian Gulf while avoiding Iranian territorial waters. The ship's crew abandoned the vessel as it was ablaze, the centre said. (AP)