The International Maritime Organisation has temporarily suspended its plan to evacuate ships and seafarers stranded in the Persian Gulf, following an attack on a container vessel operated by Taiwanese carrier Evergreen.
According to Reuters, the IMO announced the suspension on Thursday after the Singapore-flagged Ever Lovely was struck in the Gulf of Oman while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Four sources identified the vessel as the Ever Lovely. A security source indicated the attack was likely carried out by a drone, and two US officials told Reuters that Iran had fired on the ship.
Iran’s so-called Persian Gulf Strait Authority stated that vessels operating outside designated routes would not be guaranteed safe passage, as reported by ShippingWatch.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez confirmed the decision in a statement, saying he had been informed of an attack in the Gulf of Oman on a vessel passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and that he had decided to temporarily suspend the scheme’s implementation.
The suspension will remain in effect until it can be confirmed that the necessary security guarantees are still in place for vessels registered under the evacuation scheme.
The voluntary evacuation scheme had only begun earlier that week. It offered ships two possible routes out of the Gulf under US supervision. The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed to civilian shipping since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.
