The International Maritime Organisation has put on hold a planned evacuation of vessels and seafarers from the Gulf after a sudden escalation in violence in the Strait of Hormuz.
The decision followed attacks on two commercial ships in the space of 24 hours. On Friday, the Evergreen containership MV Ever Lonely was reportedly hit by a suspected missile while passing through the Strait. In the early hours of Saturday, the Panama-flagged tanker MV Kiku, which was carrying more than two million barrels of crude, was said to have been struck by a drone in the same waterway.
There were no reported injuries or fatalities in either incident. Both ships were damaged, but each was able to continue its voyage.
The IMO had been preparing a major operation to escort or move a large number of ships out of the region, but those arrangements have now been suspended. Reports indicate that more than 500 vessels and around 11,000 crew members remain unable to leave the Gulf since the start of the conflict.
The latest attacks have also led to fresh military exchanges between the United States and Iran, casting doubt on the future of the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between the two sides.
US officials said the attack on Ever Lonely came after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that ships using unauthorised routes could face “unacceptable and completely dangerous” consequences. The IRGC said vessels should coordinate their passage with Iran.
IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez said Ever Lonely was not travelling under the organisation’s evacuation framework at the time of the incident.
Global Freight Services is monitoring developments closely.