DUBAI/BASRA, Iraq — Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member on Wednesday, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, said port, maritime security and risk firms.

The latest attacks on ships linked to the US and Europe mark an escalation in the conflict between Iran and US-Israeli forces, raising the number of ships struck in the region since fighting began to at least 16.

Shipping in the Gulf and along the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which carries around a fifth of the world’s oil, has come to a near-standstill since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, sending global oil prices surging to highs not seen since 2022.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have said that if attacks on Iran continued, they would not allow “one liter of oil” to be shipped from the Middle East to the US, Israel or their partners.

US President Donald J. Trump warned Washington would strike Iran harder if it blocked oil exports and said oil companies should use the Strait because “just about all of (Iran’s) navy is gone.”

The vessels targeted in Wednesday’s late-night attacks in the Gulf near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and the Malta-flagged Zefyros, which had loaded fuel cargoes in Iraq, two Iraqi port officials said.

Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) said the Safesea Vishnu was chartered by an Iraqi company contracted with SOMO, and that Zefyros was loaded with condensate products from Basra Gas Company. Both were attacked in the ship-to-ship loading area within Iraqi territorial waters, SOMO said.

IRAQI OIL PORTS CLOSED
Iraq’s oil ports have completely stopped operations following the assaults, while commercial ports continue to function, Iraq’s state news agency said, citing the head of the state-run General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI).

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the crew of one ship had been evacuated and were reported safe.

“A boat belonging to the Iraqi Ports Company rescued 25 crew members from the two vessels, and the fires are still burning on both ships,” Farhan al-Fartousi, GCPI’s director general, told Reuters.

Iraqi rescue teams continue searching for other seafarers.

“We recovered the body of a foreign crew member from the water,” one port security official said.

The Safesea Vishnu’s commercial operator and beneficial operator are Safesea Transport Group and Safesea Group, respectively, according to data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

Those US-based companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

One Iraqi port security source said Zefyros is flagged in Malta and provided Reuters with a list of crew names.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence data showed UK-based Cygnus Tankers Limited as the commercial operator and the George & Vassilis Michael family group of companies, a key player in Greek shipping, as the beneficial owner of a tanker matching that name and flag registry.

Cygnus Tankers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters was not able to immediately reach the beneficial owner.

REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS HAVE SAID SHIPS WILL BE TARGETED
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have repeatedly warned that any ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted.

Two projectiles of unknown origin struck the Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree dry bulk vessel as it sailed through the strait earlier on Wednesday, causing a fire and damaging the engine room, the ship’s Thai-listed operator Precious Shipping said in a statement.

“Three crew members are reported missing and believed to be trapped in the engine room,” Precious Shipping said.

“The company is working with the relevant authorities to rescue these three missing crew members,” it said, adding that the remaining 20 crew members had been safely evacuated and were ashore in Oman.

Images provided by the Thai navy showed smoke pouring out of the back of the ship.

Iran’s Guards said in a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency that the ship was “fired upon by Iranian fighters,” suggesting the first direct engagement by the Guards who have previously fired missiles or drones.

The US Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Mr. Trump has said the US is prepared to provide naval escorts whenever needed.

THREE OTHER SHIPS SUSTAIN MINOR DAMAGE
The Japan-flagged container ship ONE Majesty also sustained minor damage on Wednesday from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles (46 kilometers) northwest of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), two maritime security firms said.

Its Japanese owner Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and a spokesperson for Ocean Network Express, its charterer, said the vessel was struck while at anchor in the Gulf and an inspection of the hull revealed minor damage above the waterline.

All crew are safe, they said, adding that the vessel remains fully operational and seaworthy. The owner said the cause of the incident remained unclear and was under investigation.

A third vessel, a bulk carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile approximately 50 nautical miles (92.6 kilometers) northwest of Dubai, maritime security firms said.

The projectile had damaged the hull of the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth, maritime risk management company Vanguard said, adding that the vessel’s crew were safe. Owner Star Bulk Carriers said the ship was hit in the hold area whilst anchored. There were no crew injuries and no listings.

Early on Thursday, UKMTO said an unidentified projectile struck a container ship, causing a small fire, 35 nautical miles north of Jebel Ali in the UAE. The crew were reported safe.

The Guards’ statement included a reference to another ship, which it said was hit by projectiles — usually a reference to drones — on Wednesday morning. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm that report. — Reuters

WASHINGTON — US President Donald J. Trump’s administration on Wednesday said it was launching two new trade investigations into excess industrial capacity in 16 major trading partners and into forced labor, to rebuild tariff pressure after the US Supreme Court tore down much of Mr. Trump’s tariff program last month.

US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer said that the “Section 301” unfair trade practices investigation could lead to new tariffs imposed against China, the European Union (EU), India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico by this summer.

Other trading partners subject to the excess capacity probe include Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Switzerland and Norway. Canada, the second-largest US trading partner, was not mentioned as a target of the probe.

“So, these investigations will focus on economies that we have evidence appear to exhibit structural excess capacity and production in various manufacturing sectors, such as through larger persistent trade surpluses or underutilized or unused capacity,” Mr. Greer told reporters on a conference call.

USTR’s official notice for the excess capacity probe cited the automotive sector in China and in Japan, and said a growing number of companies were unprofitable or unable to meet interest payments from operations.

It said that despite China’s electric vehicle (EV) capacity outstripping national demand, the country’s top EV maker, BYD, was “aggressively expanding” its overseas manufacturing footprint, with factories in Uzbekistan, Thailand, Brazil, Hungary and Turkey and was expected to expand capacity in Europe, where existing automotive plants are operating at only 55% of capacity.

USTR cited large US trade surpluses in Germany and Ireland as evidence of EU excess capacity. Singapore had excess global capacity in semiconductors despite a trade deficit with the US and Norway had excess capacity by evidence of large fuels and seafood exports, it added.

FORCED LABOR PROBE
Mr. Greer also said that on Thursday he would initiate another probe under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to ban US imports of goods produced with forced labor. That investigation covers more than 60 countries.

The US has already cracked down on solar panel imports and other goods from China’s Xinjiang region under the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act signed into law by former President Joseph R. Biden, and the probe could expand such actions to other countries.

Mr. Greer said he wanted other countries to enforce bans on goods produced with forced labor similar to those enshrined in a nearly century-old trade law.

The US alleges that Chinese authorities have established labor camps for ethnic Uyghur and other Muslim groups in the western region, though Beijing denies allegations of abuse.

Mr. Greer said that he hoped to conclude the Section 301 investigations, including proposed remedies, before new temporary tariffs imposed by Mr. Trump in late February expire in July. After the Supreme Court struck down Mr. Trump’s global tariffs as illegal under a national emergencies law on Feb. 20, he imposed a 10% tariff for 150 days under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.

He laid out a swift timeline for the excess capacity probe, with public comments accepted through April 15, and a public hearing slated for about May 5.

The probes offer the Trump administration an avenue to rebuild a credible tariff threat against trading partners to keep them negotiating and implement trade deals that were cut to reduce his higher tariff rates under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Mr. Greer said the new probes, long telegraphed by administration officials, should come as no surprise to trading partners, and they should stick to their deals, although he stopped short of saying that this would make them immune to all new Section 301 tariffs.

He said that Mr. Trump was determined to pursue tariffs and “will find a way to deal with unfair trading practices. He’ll find a way to get our trade deficit down. He’ll find a way to protect US manufacturing. We have a lot of tools to do it,” Mr. Greer said.

The probes come as Trump officials led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent prepare this week to meet with Chinese counterparts in Paris to set the stage for Mr. Trump to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing at the end of March.

Mr. Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods were effectively cut by 10 percentage points by the Supreme Court decision and subsequent temporary tariffs, reducing US leverage on China trade and export controls.

Mr. Trump during his first term used a Section 301 probe to back his tariffs on many Chinese imports of about 25% and the law is widely viewed as legally robust, having withstood prior court challenges.

The excess capacity probe targets an area of concern raised with China by successive administrations from Mr. Trump’s first term through the Biden administration, growing state-supported manufacturing output that is flooding the world with cheap goods.

Mr. Greer said this includes production “untethered” to market demand and that the problem has spread to other countries. He said the probe will focus on evidence including large global current account surpluses, government subsidies, suppressed domestic wages, noncommercial activities of state-owned enterprises, inadequate environmental and labor standards, subsidized lending and currency practices. — Reuters