The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) has confirmed a Wednesday explosion aboard one of its boxships, with the shipowner claiming that the blast was the result of an attack.

Unconfirmed reports and photos that circulated on Thursday had suggested the 2,200-teu Shahr E Kord (built 2012) suffered a blast from one of its containers near the bow of the ship as it transited the eastern Mediterranean Sea near Israel.