Strait of Hormuz Shipping Plans Paused After Attack
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has temporarily paused its plans to restart commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after an Evergreen containership was hit by a drone.
Incident Details
The 9,532 teu Ever Lovely was struck by a drone yesterday after completing a transit through the southern route of the strait, close to the Omani side of the waterway. The ship had been transiting with two other Evergreen vessels, the 8,500 teu Ever Lotus and the 5,600 teu Ever Unicorn.
AIS data shows the vessel has exited the area and is now heading for Singapore. Fortunately, no crew were injured and damage to the Ever Lovely was minimal, with the ship remaining seaworthy.
IMO Response
Following the incident, IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez announced that the evacuation plan would be temporarily paused while the organisation reconfirmed that safety guarantees remained in place.
“Following the launch of the IMO’s evacuation plan, through which several vessels have already been successfully evacuated, I have decided to temporarily pause its implementation,” Dominguez said.
Industry Concerns
Shipping organisation BIMCO expressed deep concern over the attack, describing it as a setback for efforts to evacuate ships and resume transits through the Strait of Hormuz.
The association warned that some transits could still be expected, but the incident underlined the need for clearer agreements between Washington and Tehran.
Safe-Passage Guarantees
Iran has warned that vessels using routes not designated by Tehran will not benefit from safe-passage guarantees, while the Oman/IMO corridor was designed to give stranded ships an alternative route out of the Gulf.
- Maritime analytics firm Windward said the Iran ordered vessels using the southern corridor to turn back yesterday, tracking five ships reversing course and a sixth going dark.