The evacuation of the ship in the Strait of Hormuz has been suspended following the attack on the cargo ship
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The UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) suspended its patrol of ships and sailors in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday after a cargo ship reported an alleged attack, fueling fears about the first deal to end the war with Iran.
The ship was said to have been hit by a projectile near Oman, according to the British naval agency UKMTO, hours after Tehran warned the ships against taking routes it did not approve.
Two US officials told Reuters that Iran shot down the ship, and Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which was set up by Tehran to handle requests for ships to leave the crisis, said ships outside its designated routes could not be guaranteed safe passage.
Four sources identified the vessel as the Singapore-flagged Ever Lovely. A security source said a drone may have been the target.
There was no immediate comment from the US government. US President Donald Trump warned earlier this month that if Iran does not respect the agreement aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait the US will likely return to bombing the country again.
The IMO has been helping to evacuate hundreds of stranded ships and thousands of seafarers from the sea where they have been stranded for months since the war began in late February.
It says it has decided to “temporarily suspend its use to reconfirm that the necessary safety guarantees continue to be in place for ships on our exit list and all those in the region,” IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement.
Voluntary exit plan
The IMO said the ship involved in the alleged attack was not part of the evacuation plan.
The plan, launched on Tuesday, was a voluntary way for ships and their crews to leave the Gulf using two routes – one through Iranian waters and the other through Omani waters, under US supervision, the IMO said this week.
Benchmark oil prices rose 1.9 percent following the reported attack, which analysts said had renewed concerns about how long it would take for Gulf oil flows to resume normal levels.
The incident in Oman is likely to focus renewed attention on the extent of Iran’s future control over the Strait of Hormuz which, before the conflict, hosted a fifth of the daily production of oil and liquefied natural gas.
Before this incident, the Secretary of State of the United States Marco Rubio – closing a trip to the Gulf to reassure states about the temporary agreement between Iran and the US – told reporters that if Iran threatens or blocks ships in the port, “then we will have a problem.”
Iran, however, has signaled that it will continue to control the strait.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday that safe passage through the strait could only take place through routes designated by Iran, adding that it would take action against ships that failed to comply.
CBC business correspondent Peter Armstrong explains why – even when the Strait of Hormuz is reopened – restoring markets to pre-war levels will be a huge undertaking.
Earlier, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said exports were close to levels seen before the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran in Feb. 28, —at least 20 million barrels of oil off the road in the last 24 hours.
During the conflict, Iran took effective control of a key chokepoint, disrupting the flow of oil and shaking global energy markets and the wider economy.
The battle is especially difficult for Trump ahead of the mid-term elections in November that will determine control of Congress.
Conflicting accounts have emerged about parts of the ceasefire agreement, which has drawn criticism of Trump at home and abroad.
Disagreements continue over Iran’s financial interests, nuclear testing, control of the Strait of Hormuz and Israel’s parallel war in Lebanon.
The chief negotiator in Iran, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, on Thursday said that the American statements that Iran will use its unfrozen goods to buy American agricultural products are false.
The deal sets up 60 days of talks to address tough issues, including Iran’s nuclear program.
