Iran strikes ship in Strait of Hormuz, halting evacuation efforts

An Iranian strike damaged the bridge of a Singapore-flagged commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz near Oman, forcing the International Maritime Organization to pause its evacuation effort and rattling a waterway that normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Centre said there were no injuries and no environmental impact.

The strike came as the maritime agency was trying to move ships and seafarers out of danger after days of heightened tension. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the pause was needed to reconfirm that the necessary safety guarantees were in place. The vessel had already passed through the Strait of Hormuz before it was hit and was not traveling under the IMO evacuation framework.

The strike also landed in the middle of an attempt to restore traffic. The United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding last week to reopen the strait and provide 60 days of safe passage using Iran’s best efforts. Kpler data showed traffic surged to 70 vessels on Tuesday from six a week earlier, though some of that increase reflected delayed shipping released after the deal.

On June 23, Oman and Iran agreed to keep discussing the future administration of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, including maritime services and associated costs. Oman said any system it pursued with Iran would not involve fees, while Iran said it would work with Oman to define the future administration and services in the strait. The United States has rejected any toll system, and shipowners have warned that new charges would make passage more costly and uncertain.

Brent crude hovered around $75 a barrel on Thursday and briefly fell to $72, near pre-war levels. Earlier in the conflict, traffic through Hormuz had fallen far below normal, at one point leaving only a handful of vessels moving through a passage that had handled more than 100 daily before the war.