- Legal proceedings against the vessels are scheduled to commence on November 1.
- South Korean shipowners have publicly distanced themselves from the dispute.
Updated 8 min 18 sec ago
October 28, 2026 10:00
Iran’s Arabian Gulf Strait Authority, a Tehran‑established body overseeing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, announced on Tuesday that all ships registered to South Korean operator Sinokor will be subject to legal proceedings beginning November 1.
Since the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28, Tehran has intensified its efforts to control the strategic Strait of Hormuz by targeting shipping. The country has imposed transit restrictions aimed at increasing pressure on Washington and disrupting oil shipments from Gulf producers, notably to Asian markets.
The authority posted on X that Sinokor vessels recorded the most crossing violations in the strait over the past three months, prompting “appropriate actions” against at least seven of them.
The Korea Shipowners’ Association stated on Wednesday that the vessels referenced are not owned by Sinokor but are instead sub‑chartered to an overseas oil firm. The ships carry no South Korean crew, only foreign seafarers.
The association said it verified the information with a Sinokor official.
Sinokor was reportedly unaware of the authority’s separate legal warning and was investigating the specifics, according to the association.
In August, Iran published a list of 45 tankers it accused of violating its Strait of Hormuz crossing rules; Sinokor‑owned vessels were among them.
In response to Iran’s actions, the United States enacted a naval blockade targeting vessels linked to the Islamic Republic in the strait.
Although the blockade has severely curtailed Iranian exports, Gulf producers have mitigated shipping attacks by employing “dark transits,” disabling tanker tracking systems to avoid detection and safeguarding the oil flows essential to their economies.
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