UN pauses Strait of Hormuz evacuation plan after ship reports attack

LONDON/MAMANA/DUBAI – The UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) paused its operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz on June 25 after a vessel reported an attack, reigniting fears over a preliminary deal to end the Iran war.

Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine said on June 26 its ship was hit close to Oman by an “unknown object” while on a route recommended by the British navy agency UKMTO.

The agency said earlier a vessel had been struck by a projectile hours after Tehran warned vessels against taking routes it had not approved.

Two US officials told Reuters that Iran had fired on the ship, while Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which Tehran established to manage requests for ships to travel through the strait, said vessels outside routes it has set will not be guaranteed safe passage.

“Consequences arising from passage through unauthorized routes shall be the responsibility of the owner, operator, and vessel commander,” the Iranian authority said.

Evergreen said its Singapore-flagged Ever Lovely was hit on the starboard side and initial inspections showed damage to the bridge windows.

“The crew, vessel and cargo are all safe,” the company said in a stock exchange statement. “The vessel has safely departed the Strait of Hormuz.”

A security source said it was probably targeted by a drone. There was no immediate comment from the US government.

US President Donald Trump warned earlier in June that if Iran did not honour an agreement aimed at ending the war and reopening the strait that the US would probably go back to bombing the country again.

Aramco starts loading at Ras Tanura

The IMO was helping to get hundreds of ships and thousands of seafarers out of the strait where they had been stranded for months since the start of the war in late February.

It decided “to temporarily pause its implementation in order to reconfirm that the necessary safety guarantees continue to be in place for the ships on our evacuation list and all those in the region”, IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement.

The IMO said the ship involved in the suspected attack was not part of its evacuation programme.

The initiative, which was launched on June 23, was a voluntary option for ships and their crew to sail out of the Gulf using two routes – one via Iranian waters and the other via Omani waters, with US oversight, the IMO said this week.

The Oman incident is likely to refocus attention on the extent of Iran’s future control over the Strait of Hormuz which, before the conflict, handled a fifth of the world’s daily oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

Iran took effective control of the waterway when the war began, disrupting oil flows and rattling global energy markets, but oil prices dipped again on June 26 and were headed for steep weekly losses as more stranded oil tankers exited the strait.

South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung said on June 26 three South Korean ships would leave the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend after the Oceans Ministry reported eight more South Korean vessels had exited.

There were also signs that Middle Eastern producers were pushing forward with plans to boost exports. Shipping data from LSEG showed Saudi Aramco resumed oil loading at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf on June 26 after a near four-month halt.

Two Very Large Crude Carriers controlled by Saudi Arabia’s shipping arm Bahri were seen loading crude at Ras Tanura, the world’s biggest oil port, while another waited nearby, the data showed. Each VLCC is capable of loading two million barrels of oil.

Saudi Aramco could not be immediately reached for comment outside office hours.

War casts shadow on midterms

Before the incident, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio – wrapping up a tour of the Gulf to reassure states about the interim pact – told reporters that if Iran threatens or blocks ships in the strait, “then we’re going to have a problem”.

Iran, though, has signalled it would continue to assert control over the strait.

Its Revolutionary Guards said on June 25 that safe passage through the strait would only be possible through routes designated by Iran, adding that it would take action against vessels that failed to comply.

The Revolutionary Guards also ordered two Panama-flagged ships to change course on June 25, British maritime security company Ambrey said.

The war is weighing heavily on US President Donald Trump ahead of November midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

Just one in four Americans believes the war was worth the cost, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.

Conflicting accounts have emerged over elements of the framework ceasefire deal, which has prompted criticism of Trump at home and abroad.

Disagreements persist over financial incentives for Iran, nuclear inspections, control of the Strait of Hormuz and Israel’s parallel war in Lebanon.

Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on June 25 that the US assertion that Iran would spend its unfrozen assets to buy US agricultural products was false.

The deal sets up 60 days of talks to tackle thornier issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme. REUTERS