Ship attack halts Hormuz evacuation plan
Shafaq News- Washington
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) on Thursday paused its Strait of Hormuz evacuation plan after a cargo vessel was attacked in the Gulf of Oman.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez clarified that the attacked vessel had passed through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about 20% of global oil supplies, but was not transiting under the organization’s evacuation framework.
The IMO announced the plan on June 23 to help evacuate more than 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf region, in coordination with Iran, Oman, other coastal states, the United States, and maritime industry bodies. Initial data showed 57 ships carrying about 1,100 seafarers had used the evacuation routes between June 23 and the morning of June 25.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had declared earlier today that the only authorized route through the Strait of Hormuz was the route announced by Iran, warning that unauthorized crossings were unacceptable and extremely dangerous, though it did not directly claim responsibility for the attack.
On June 17, US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The White House later sent Congress the text of the 14-point interim agreement, which it said included safe passage for vessels through the strait.
