Newsletters
The United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO) paused its operation to evacuate ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday after a vessel reportedly came under attack, reigniting concerns over whether the preliminary deal to end the Iran war will hold.
The cargo ship reported being struck by a projectile near the Omani coast, the British navy agency UKMTO said, hours after Tehran warned vessels against using routes it had not approved.
Two U.S. officials told Reuters that Iran had fired on the ship.
Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), the body Tehran established to manage requests for vessels to transit the strait, said ships traveling outside its designated routes would not be guaranteed safe passage.
"Consequences arising from passage through unauthorized routes shall be the responsibility of the owner, operator, and vessel commander," the authority said.
Four sources who spoke to Reuters identified the vessel as the Singapore-flagged Ever Lovely. A security source cited by Reuters noted that it was likely targeted by a drone.
Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Marine confirmed in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that the Ever Lovely, owned by its Singapore subsidiary, was struck by an unknown object on the starboard side of its bridge approximately 3.6 nautical miles off Oman's Khawr Naiwah.
An initial crew inspection found damage around the bridge windows, but the company said the crew, the vessel and the cargo were all safe.
"The main engine and navigation instruments are operating normally and there are no seaworthiness issues," Evergreen said, adding that the ship had safely departed the Strait of Hormuz and had been following UKMTO's recommended route while transiting the waterway.
The UKMTO separately reported that the ship was struck approximately 7.5 nautical miles southeast of Oman's port of Dahit. No casualties were reported. Maritime risk management firm Vanguard said the Ever Lovely continued through the strait despite the attack.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement on X that the agency was pausing its evacuation plan following the attack.
"I have been informed of an attack today in the Gulf of Oman. Seafarer safety remains paramount," Dominguez said, adding, "to ensure coordinated approach and navigational safety, the IMO evacuation plan will be paused until further clarity."
Dominguez said the agency decided to temporarily pause its implementation 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."
The IMO confirmed the attacked vessel was not part of its evacuation program.
The evacuation effort had been launched on Tuesday, in cooperation with Oman, the U.S., other regional coastal states and the maritime industry, to move more than 11,000 stranded seafarers and hundreds of ships out of the strait, where they had been stuck for months since the war began in late February.
Dominguez described it as a "large-scale operation."
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
