Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked a Singapore-flagged container ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, forcing the United Nations maritime agency to temporarily halt its plan to evacuate trapped vessels from the waterway and throwing global shipping into fresh turmoil.
The Ever Lovely was struck by an unidentified object while attempting to transit the strait. No casualties were reported and the ship eventually completed its passage, according to Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority. The IRGC had issued a direct warning to vessels just hours before the attack.
“Any credible framework must be based on coordination with Iran,” wrote Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, on social media Friday. He threatened to suspend a newly designated shipping route if ships did not comply with Tehran’s demands for permission before transiting.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez announced a pause to the agency’s evacuation initiative shortly after the attack. “Following the launch of the IMO’s evacuation plan, through which several vessels have already been successfully evacuated, I have decided to temporarily pause its implementation in order to reconfirm that the necessary safety guarantees continue to be in place,” Dominguez said.
The IMO had begun guiding ships through Omani waters at the southern end of the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week as maritime traffic slowly resumed after Iran effectively closed the waterway for months. The Ever Lovely was not operating under the UN-coordinated framework when it was struck.
At least three foreign oil tankers changed course after the Ever Lovely incident, according to Iranian state-affiliated media. The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly 20 percent of global oil trade.
Gharibabadi cited the Islamabad memorandum of understanding in his statement, a framework that requires Iran to remove its blockade and charge no fees for at least 60 days while discussing future administration of the strait with Oman. The agreement does not specify who holds direct authority over the waterway during that negotiation period, a gap Iran appears to be exploiting.
The IRGC had declared the new IMO route through the strait “unacceptable and completely dangerous” and demanded ships coordinate with Tehran before attempting passage. The warning came Wednesday, within hours of Oman announcing the route in coordination with the IMO.
The attack raises new questions about the viability of the international effort to reopen the strait to commercial traffic. Iran has previously blocked oil tankers and cargo vessels transiting the waterway during periods of heightened tension with the West.
