IMO pauses Hormuz ship evacuation plan after vessel attack

The International Maritime Organization has decided to pause its evacuation efforts for ships and seafarers stranded in the Middle East Gulf following an attack on a vessel in the Gulf of Oman.

This decision comes after a container ship was targeted by an unknown projectile near the Oman coast on Thursday, with a U.S. official pointing fingers at Iran for the attack.

The Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, Arsenio Dominguez, stated that the evacuation plan will be temporarily halted to ensure the safety of the ships and individuals in the region.

In response to the attack, a U.S. official mentioned that President Trump has emphasized that Iran cannot disrupt the free flow of traffic in the strait.

The IMO initiative, introduced earlier in the week, aimed to assist numerous stranded ships and thousands of seafarers in leaving the Gulf through either a northern or southern route under U.S. oversight.

Following a temporary ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran, ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has seen some recovery but remains below pre-war levels.

In a warning issued by Iran’s military, vessels were advised against using the southern route approved by the IMO without Tehran’s consent.

Two vessels altered their course after Iran’s insistence on using approved routes, with one of the vessels being attacked carrying a Singapore flag and owned by Evergreen, as reported by Lloyd’s.

Evergreen, along with Singapore’s relevant ministries, did not provide comments in response to CNBC’s inquiries.

— Reporting by CNBC’s Akayla Gardner, Lim Hui Jie, and Dan Mangan.