New Iranian attack challenges Hormuz reopening

• IMO pauses Hormuz evacuation
• Struck ship moving outside IMO framework
• Shipping association ‘deeply concerned’

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has suspended efforts to evacuate ships through the Strait of Hormuz following an attack on a cargo vessel. The strike sparked a brief increase in oil prices, but crude gave up Thursday’s gains in early Friday trade.

Brent crude futures fell 1.2 percent to $74.33 a barrel as of 02:40 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate declined 1.1 percent to $71.10 a barrel.

Oil prices had risen more than 2% in the previous session, following the IMO suspension.

The IMO’s decision followed an attack against a cargo vessel that was attempting to transit the strait, according to the UN agency’s secretary-general, Arsenio Dominguez.

The ship was identified by maritime consultancy Vanguard as the Singapore-flagged Ever Lovely, which continued its voyage after being struck, the BBC reported.

The vessel was moving independently from the parameters of the IMO framework, Dominguez said in a statement.

US officials told the Wall Street Journal that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was behind the attack, which was conducted via drone.

The IRGC said on Thursday that vessels should use only routes designated by Iran.

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

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations flagged the strike as occurring 7.5 nautical miles southeast of Dahit, in Oman’s Musandam peninsula, which is separated from the rest of the country by UAE territory.

Shipping association Bimco said it is “deeply concerned” about the attack, calling it a setback in efforts to reopen the waterway.

“The situation underscores the importance of clear and unambiguous
agreements between the US and Iran regarding a resumption of maritime
traffic through the strait,” said Jakob Larsen, Bimco’s chief safety and security officer.

“The wording of the US-Iran MoU is currently not sufficiently clear.”

The week-old interim peace deal, or memorandum of understanding (MoU), between Washington and Tehran calls on both parties to take immediate steps to allow commercial shipping through Hormuz to resume gradually.

It guaranteed a 60-day window in which passage would be free, and laid the groundwork for further negotiations between Iran, Oman and coastal states along the Gulf about how best to administer the international body of water.

Further reading:

• TotalEnergies must invest in ways to bypass Hormuz, CEO says
• Diversification and defence: how conflict will reshape Gulf economy
• Iran’s Hormuz insurance scheme ‘amounts to transit fee’

Despite the agreement, and the IMO-backed evacuation plan for the thousands of seafarers stranded in the Gulf since war broke out February 28, international shipping companies remain wary of making the journey.

They are being held back by unclear instructions for how exactly passage should be attempted, mixed messages coming from the US and Iran about the future management of the strait, and a lack of confidence that peace will stick.

Seventy ships were verified to have made the crossing on Wednesday, according to data platform Kpler.

Before the Iran conflict, the strait typically handled about 130 vessel transits daily. Around a fifth of the world’s oil supplies would normally move through the waterway.

A joint statement by officials from the US and the Gulf Cooperation Council underscored that “free, unconditional, and unrestricted navigation” through Hormuz is a vital component of any permanent peace arrangement with Iran.

The communique was issued on Thursday before news of the attack, at the end of US secretary of state Marco Rubio’s three-day visit to the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain.