The UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) said on Thursday that it paused an effort to evacuate ships out of the Strait of Hormuz after a vessel was struck off the coast of Oman, which came as Iran warned ships not to transit the strait outside of routes it hasn’t approved.
The UK’s Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) initially reported the attack and said the vessel was transiting along a UN-approved route as it was struck, though IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the ship “did not transit under IMO’s evacuation framework.”
The UKMTO also said that the ship had been damaged but that there were no casualties among the crew. Around the time of the attack, Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), a newly created Iranian government agency, issued a warning to vessels in the region.
“PGSA advises that vessels passage outside designated routes are not covered by the Safe Passage Guarantee, insurance, or related liabilities. Any consequences arising from unauthorized routing shall be the sole responsibility of the vessel owner, charterer, and master,” the Iranian agency said.
Two US officials speaking anonymously to The Wall Street Journal blamed the attack on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the IRGC had warned ships earlier in the day against using a non-Iranian-approved route through the strait, but so far, there’s been no confirmation or denial from Tehran.
It’s unclear at this point how the US will react to the incident. After Iran announced it was re-closing the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend in response to Israel’s continued war in Lebanon, which is supposed to end under the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, President Trump threatened to restart the bombing campaign.
