IMO suspends ship transits through the Strait of Hormuz after attack near Oman

The International Maritime Organization said overnight Thursday to Friday that it was suspending ship transits through the Strait of Hormuz after a vessel was struck by a projectile off the coast of Oman. The move followed Iranian threats against ships using a new sea route that Tehran has not approved.

The British maritime trade center said the ship was damaged, but there were no injuries and no environmental damage. It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack or what type of vessel was hit. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the evacuation plan would remain frozen until the safety of ships in the area is fully confirmed.

Iran’s newly established Gulf Straits Authority, a government body created to control shipping, warned that passage outside its designated routes would not be covered by “responsibility for safe passage.” The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ naval branch also issued a strong warning yesterday, calling the new route “completely unacceptable and extremely dangerous,” and saying the only approved route through Hormuz is the one announced by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was visiting the Persian Gulf to reassure American allies, underscored Washington’s commitment to the new route and to freedom of navigation. The alternative passage is intended to ease the global economy and reduce Iran’s bargaining power in the ongoing peace talks with the United States.