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The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) has suspended plans to evacuate more than 11,000 seafarers missing in the region. Hormuz River after a cargo ship passing through the waterway was hit by a projectile.
IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez said several workers had already been evacuated, but the organization decided to suspend the operation until there were “necessary safety guarantees” for those involved.
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The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the Royal Navy’s maritime security agency, said Thursday that a cargo ship was hit by an “unknown projectile” about 7.5 nautical miles (14km) southeast of Dahit, Oman. No injuries were reported.
The incident comes despite a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the United States and Iran last week that ended the dispute and included measures to reopen the waterway. Iran blocked passage through the canal in early March after the US and Israel attacked it on February 28. In April, the US blocked ships linked to Iran trying to pass through the waterway.
Since the deal was signed, commercial traffic has resumed through the crisis, but major disputes remain over which ships should use it – and whether Iran should pay or fine it.
Oman and the IMO have planned a new waterway that would partially bypass the waters under Iran’s direct control. Tehran has rejected the plan, saying it was announced without consultation and reflects security concerns as the de-nuclearization process continues. Although Iran has not claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack on a boat from Oman, it has not denied anything.
The latest attack has fueled concerns that tensions over the sea are far from over. Here’s what we know.
Why is the UN removing the sailors?
Following the start of the US-Israeli war in Iran on February 28, Tehran and Washington imposed restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving thousands of sailors unable to leave their ships stranded in the waterway.
More than a dozen sailors have also been killed in attacks on ships – some from American missiles, others from Iranian missiles. Most of the people who were killed were from India.
Despite last week’s agreement between Washington and Tehran to end the conflict, more than 11,000 sailors remain stranded.
Announcing the relocation plan on Tuesday, IMO’s Dominguez said the operation would be carried out “in close cooperation with Iran, Oman, all other coastal countries in the region, the United States and the maritime industry”.
The Ministry of Defense in Oman has said that the project, which has been discussed for several months, will be carried out gradually.
Denmark also announced on Tuesday that it would join a multinational maritime effort led by France and Britain to help restore safe navigation through the strait.
Why was the ship attacked?
The Singapore-flagged cargo ship Ever Lovely was hit by what authorities called an “unidentified craft” while passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.
Ship tracking data from MarineTraffic shows that the ship followed the IMO’s proposed southern route earlier that day, a route that passes close to the coast of Oman and has been rejected by Iran.
The Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore said the ship had finished passing through the river and was continuing its journey, adding that all 21 were safe.
The government said it was “deeply concerned” by the attack which it described as “unprovoked, unjustified, and in violation of international law”.
“All actions involving international shipping must strictly comply with international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and without compromising the safety of seafarers and ships at sea,” the MPA said.
The incident prompted the IMO to suspend its evacuation of stranded seafarers. Dominguez said Ever Lovely “didn’t go according to plan to leave IMO”.
“I have always reiterated that the safety of seafarers is very important. Therefore, in order to ensure that the approach is consistent with the safety of the sea, the rescue plan will be suspended until further understanding,” he said.
What did Iran say?
Although it is not known whether the attack was carried out by Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has criticized the new route of communication announced by Oman and the IMO, and also warned that crossing the river, “is only possible through the routes announced by Iran,” said state radio IRIB.
Kazem Gharibabadi, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, has said that passing through the Strait of Hormuz cannot be confirmed that the ships that are traveling “are unrelated routes, parallel routes, or making decisions outside of what Iran considers as a coastal state”.
“Any credible objective must be based on the agreement with Iran and the provisions of the fifth paragraph of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,” he said in his statement on X. “Otherwise, the result will be the suspension of the same path that has been chosen.”
Iran first released its official navigation map in April, directing ships to sail closer to Iran’s coast than before the war.
The IRGC’s latest warning came after a Liberian-flagged oil tanker derailed on Thursday using a route near the coast of Oman.
On Friday, three more foreign oil tankers that tried to cross the Strait of Hormuz “without permission” were turned back after a warning from the IRGC, Iranian media reported.
Analysts say that control of the Strait of Hormuz has long been one of Tehran’s most important sources of power, allowing it to pressure the US, whose economy is closely linked to international markets.
Why was the transfer stopped?
Reports from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas said the attack seemed to show that Iran was ready to follow its warnings on navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, after Tehran forced ships using the Iranian or Omani channel to cooperate with its authorities.
“Yesterday, Oman announced new routes for the ships to pass. But the IRGC issued a statement, saying that if the ships pass through Iranian or Omani waters, they must be in agreement with the Iranian authorities,” said Atas.
“And if they violate that, then Iran will take action.” So the question was whether Iran would do it or not?
“The answer is yes. Now we have seen that an oil tanker has been blown up by some shells in the Strait of Hormuz. The Revolutionary Guards have not claimed responsibility but they have not denied it.”
Atas added that Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, also warned that any naval operations that would take place without taking Iran’s role as a coastal state would be unacceptable.
“Perhaps in the coming days and weeks, we will see that the Strait of Hormuz will become one of the most important.”
What other arguments are left?
Under the memorandum of the end of last week, Iran agreed that it would “make arrangements using its best practices to allow commercial vessels free of charge, for only 60 days, from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa”.
Although the agreement states that trade should resume immediately, it also agrees that the mines that were placed during the conflict must be removed first, saying that “de-mining by the Islamic Republic of Iran will be established within 30 days”.
It also provides talks between Iran, Oman and other Gulf countries on future plans to regulate navigation in the waterway.
However, the agreement does not specify what will happen after the first 60 days.
Last week, Tehran announced it would waive any sanctions during those 60 days while talks with the United States continue in Switzerland, raising the possibility that charges could be imposed if no broader agreement is reached.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has said that Tehran does not want to go back to the pre-war.
“Hormuz will never go back” to the way it worked before the war, he said. The proposal has also met with opposition from the United States and several Gulf countries.
Are ships still plying this road?
Commercial shipping has slowly resumed, although traffic remains very low. Before the war, between 120 and 140 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz every day.
According to maritime research firm Kpler, 54 confirmed commercial and energy-related vessels passed through the river on Thursday, down from 70 confirmed the previous day.
“The West to East route was the most popular, while the Omani Route took the largest share of the identified routes.
“The collision of a cargo ship that occurred southeast of Dahit, Oman, increases the operational risk, confirming the gap between good traffic control and maritime security which is still fragile,” added Kpler.
