UN Halts Sailor Evacuation After Cargo Ship Struck in Strait of Hormuz]

The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) has suspended plans to evacuate more than 11,000 stranded sailors in the Strait of Hormuz following an attack on a cargo vessel transiting the strategic waterway.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez announced that while several crews have already been evacuated, the operation will be paused until “necessary safety guarantees” are established for those involved.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a Royal Navy maritime security agency, reported that a cargo vessel was struck by “an unknown projectile” approximately 7.5 nautical miles (14km) southeast of Dahit, Oman on Thursday. No casualties were reported.

The incident occurs despite a recent memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the United States and Iran last week that ended hostilities and aimed to reopen the strategic waterway. Iran had restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz in early March after the US and Israel attacked it on February 28. The US subsequently imposed a naval blockade on Iran-linked vessels attempting to transit the area.

While commercial traffic has resumed following the MoU, significant disagreements persist regarding shipping routes and potential tolls or fees. Oman and the IMO have proposed a new shipping corridor that would partially bypass waters under Iranian control, a plan Tehran has rejected as unsafe and announced without consultation during ongoing demining operations.

The latest attack has intensified concerns about unresolved tensions in the Strait of Hormuz navigation. Here’s what is currently known:

Why is the UN evacuating sailors?

Following the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict on February 28, Iran and Washington imposed reciprocal restrictions on ship passage through the Strait of Hormuz, stranding thousands of seafarers aboard vessels trapped in the waterway.

More than a dozen sailors have been killed in attacks on ships, primarily from India. Despite the recent agreement between the US and Iran, over 11,000 sailors remain stranded in the strait.

Announcing the evacuation plan on Tuesday, IMO’s Dominguez stated that the operation would be conducted in “close cooperation with Iran, Oman, all other regional coastal states, the United States, and the maritime industry.”

Oman’s Ministry of Defence confirmed the phased operation had been under discussion for months, with Denmark announcing its participation in a multinational maritime mission led by France and Britain to restore safe navigation through the strait.

Why was the ship attacked?

The Singapore-flagged cargo vessel Ever Lovely was struck by an “unknown projectile” while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.

Ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic showed the vessel was following the southern shipping route proposed by the IMO earlier that day, a corridor passing closer to Oman’s coastline and rejected by Iran.

Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) confirmed the vessel completed its transit safely with all 21 crew members unharmed, describing the attack as “unprovoked, unjustifiable, and a breach of international law.”

The MPA emphasized that all actions affecting international shipping must comply with international law, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and not endanger seafarers or vessels.

The attack prompted the IMO to suspend its planned evacuation of stranded sailors. Dominguez noted that the Ever Lovely “did not transit under IMO’s evacuation framework.”

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

What has Iran said?

While it remains unclear if Iran conducted the attack, the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps criticized the new shipping corridor announced by Oman and the IMO, warning that passage through the Strait of Hormuz “is only possible via routes announced by Iran,” according to state broadcaster IRIB.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, stated that safe passage cannot be guaranteed for vessels transiting “with ambiguous arrangements, parallel routes, or decision-making outside of Iran’s considerations as the coastal state.”

“Any credible framework must be based on coordination with Iran and the provisions of paragraph five of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,” he said in a statement on X. “Otherwise, the outcome will be the suspension of the designated parallel route.”

Iran first published its own map of approved navigation routes in April, directing ships to sail much closer to the Iranian coastline than before the conflict.

The IRGC’s latest warning followed a Liberian-flagged oil tanker transiting the strait using a route closer to Oman’s coast, with three additional foreign oil tankers reportedly turned back on Friday for attempting to cross “without authorization.”

Analysts note that control over the Strait of Hormuz represents one of Tehran’s key sources of strategic leverage, enabling pressure on the US, whose economy is deeply tied to global markets.

Why was the evacuation suspended?

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas noted the attack demonstrated Iran’s readiness to enforce warnings over navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, where Tehran insists vessels using either Iranian or Omani routes must coordinate with its authorities.

“Yesterday, Oman announced new routes for ship passage. But then the IRGC released a statement, saying that whether the ships go through the Iranian or Omani territorial waters, they need to be in full coordination with Iranian authorities,” Atas explained.

“And if they violate that, then Iran is going to act accordingly. The question was whether Iran would really act or not? The answer is yes. Now, we have seen that a tanker has been attacked by some projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz. The Revolutionary Guards did not claim responsibility but did not deny it either.”

Atas added that Gharibabadi also warned that any shipping arrangements made without taking Iran’s position as a coastal state into account would be unacceptable.

“Perhaps, in the coming days and weeks, we are going to see that the Strait of Hormuz will be one of the main sticking points.”

What other disputes remain?

Under the MoU, Iran agreed to “make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge, for 60 days only, from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa.”

Although the agreement states commercial traffic should resume immediately, it also acknowledges that mines laid during the conflict must first be cleared, with “demining by the Islamic Republic of Iran will be instated within 30 days.”

The agreement provides for discussions between Iran, Oman, and other Gulf states over future navigation management, but does not specify arrangements beyond the initial 60-day period.

Last week, Tehran announced it would waive transit fees during those 60 days while negotiations continue in Switzerland, raising the possibility that charges could be introduced if no broader agreement is reached.

Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, suggested Tehran does not intend to return to the pre-war status quo, stating “Hormuz will never return” to its previous operational conditions.

Are ships still moving through the strait?

Commercial shipping has gradually resumed but remains well below normal levels. Before the conflict, 120-140 vessels typically passed through the Strait of Hormuz daily.

According to maritime analytics firm Kpler, 54 verified commercial and energy-related vessels transited the strait on Thursday, down from 70 the previous day.

“West-to-East movements dominated, while the Omani Route accounted for the largest share of identified passages. Yet route transparency remains incomplete, with several Dark or Unknown crossings recorded.”

“A reported projectile strike on a cargo vessel southeast of Dahit, Oman, adds fresh operational risk, underscoring the gap between improving physical flows and still-fragile maritime security conditions,” Kpler added.

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