Hormuz: IMO evacuation plan put on hold following ship attack until further notice

International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has confirmed that a pause in the evacuation plan for more than 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Strait of Hormuz for several months remains in place after a cargo ship passing through the waterway was attacked yesterday.

The plan proposed two routes, one to the north in Iranian territorial waters and a second to the south in Omani waters.

However, such a provision, which only came into effect earlier this week, was abruptly suspended when the UK maritime security agency UKMTO reported on Thursday that a vessel had been hit 7.5 nautical miles southeast of Oman's port of Dahit by "an unknown projectile".

US media, quoting US officials, said it had been fired on by Iran.

IMO continuing to investigate

The ship in question was the Ever Lovely, a Singapore-flagged ship operated by Evergreen. “All crew members remain safe as does the vessel itself and all cargo," the ocean shipping line said.

Dominguez said he could not provide details about the attack, which the IMO was continuing to investigate. However, he did confirm that the vessel had not transited under the IMO’s evacuation framework.

“I have always reiterated that the safety of the seafarers remains paramount. Therefore, to ensure a coordinated approach and navigational safety, the evacuation plan will be paused until further clarity is obtained.”

However, even though the plan has been paused, reports indicated that 15 vessels had passed through the Strait today, the vast majority taking the southern route in proximity to Oman’s coastline.

It was not clear whether these vessels had been escorted by the Omani navy or whether the US navy was involved.

Dominguez underlined that dialogue was continuing between the IMO, the U.S.’ Oman and Iran on the evacuation plan but could not say when it would be re-activated.

Asked whether Iran had violated the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the US in attacking the Ever Lovely, Dominguez said it was not his role to comment.

Key, Strategic Asset

Since the US and Iran signed the MoU last week, traffic through the Hormuz has built up steadily. Under its terms, Tehran agreed that it would do it’s upmost to ensure full freedom of navigation was restored, and no fees or tolls would be imposed for a minimum of 60 days.

However, on Thursday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) dismissed out of hand the two new temporary shipping evacuation lanes announced by the IMO in collaboration with Oman.

In a statement, the IRGC said any alternative transit routes was “unacceptable and completely dangerous. Traffic of vessels outside the official routes is prohibited, and we warn against any traffic outside the communicated routes,” it underlined.

It appears very clear that, the MoU or not, Iran is determined to take full advantage of its key, strategic asset, which is the Strait of Hormuz. Indeed, Mohammad Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and its chief negotiator, has warned that the waterway would not return to its pre-conflict status.

“Everyone should know that the administration of the Strait of Hormuz will never go back to the way it was before the war,” he said. That is not the message the ocean shipping community and its customers wanted to hear.