MSC says vessel hit by projectiles in Iraq's Umm Qasr port on Monday, crew safe

ROME, June 2 (Reuters) – MSC, the world’s largest shipping group, said on Tuesday its Sariska V vessel was struck by two projectiles while in Iraq’s Umm Qasr port on Monday, adding that all crew members were safe and unharmed.

The company said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had claimed responsibility. MSC described the incident as an unprovoked attack on a neutral commercial carrier with no affiliation to the United States or Israel.

“MSC is deeply concerned by these unprovoked attacks and the risk they create for its innocent seafarers and essential maritime trade in the region,” the group said in a statement.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted the MSC Sariska V container ship with a cruise missile, according to Iranian state media, describing the strike as retaliation for what Tehran said was an earlier attack on an Iranian vessel.

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti in Rome and Elwely Elwelly, editing by Gavin Jones)