UN pauses ship evacuations through strait of Hormuz after vessel attack

A United Nations agency paused the evacuation of ships through the strait of Hormuz on Thursday after the British military said a vessel was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman following the passage of several tankers that used a route backed by the UN. The head of the UN’s International Maritime Organization said the plan to move stranded ships out of the Persian Gulf through the strait will be on hold until the agency can confirm safety guarantees for the ships on the evacuation list and in the region. It was unclear who launched the projectile or the type of vessel that was targeted. The report of a strike came hours after Iran threatened vessels to stop using the route through the strait without Tehran’s permission. The vessel that was attacked was not part of the evacuation effort, said Arsenio Dominguez, the UN agency’s secretary-general. After reports of the attack, Iran’s Persian Gulf strait authority – a new government agency established to control shipping in the strait – wrote on X that transit outside its own designated routes “will not be covered by the guarantee of safe passage”. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said the vessel sustained damage, but it reported no injuries or environmental effects from the attack off the coast of Oman . The opening of an alternative passage through the vital waterway would relieve pressure on the world economy and remove Iran’s main source of leverage in ongoing peace talks with the United States. …