The United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO) temporarily paused its evacuation plan for stranded ships and seafarers through the Strait of Hormuz following an attack on a vessel near the coast of Oman on June 25 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The Singapore-flagged container ship Ever Lovely, owned by Evergreen, was struck by a projectile, likely a drone, about 14 kilometers southeast of Oman's port of Dahit in the Gulf of Oman, damaging its starboard side [1, 2, 3, 5]. The vessel was not part of the ongoing IMO evacuation program [1, 2, 3, 4].
The IMO plan had launched on June 23 or 24 to evacuate more than 600 ships and about 11,000 seafarers stranded by the Iran-US conflict and blockades in Gulf waters [2, 3, 4, 5]. The evacuation routes included one through Iranian waters and another via Omani waters under U.S. oversight [2, 3, 4]. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said, "I have decided to temporarily pause [the evacuation plan’s] 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" and added the pause will last until there is clarity on navigational safety [3, 5].
Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority warned that vessels using routes not approved by Tehran would not be guaranteed safe passage and said, "Transit outside its own designated routes will not be covered by the guarantee of safe passage," leaving responsibility to ship owners and operators [1, 2, 3, 4]. Iran has previously ordered some ships to change course and threatened consequences for unauthorized routes [1, 2, 3, 4].
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has increased since the recent ceasefire but remains below prewar levels, with about 125 vessels passing in the first week following the ceasefire [1, 4]. Following news of the attack, oil prices rose 2% after briefly dipping below the prewar level of $73 per barrel [1, 2].
U.S. officials accused Iran of responsibility for the attack, though Iran has not acknowledged involvement and the source of the projectile remains unconfirmed [2, 4, 1, 3, 5]. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned, "If that stops, then we’re going to have a problem," referring to safe passage through the Strait [1].
The conflict remains tense six days after the IMO launched the evacuation initiative. The U.S. and Iran have a 60-day interim peace deal negotiation period underway [1, 4]. The IMO’s next steps include reviewing safety conditions before resuming the evacuation program.
