Iran warns vessels to use only Tehran-approved routes as IMO halts Hormuz evacuation after ship struck.

The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) has paused its Strait of Hormuz evacuation initiative after a vessel was attacked in the Gulf of Oman.

A cargo ship reported a suspected attack as it attempted to ⁠pass through the Strait of Hormuz close to the coast of Oman on Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

The ship reported being struck on its starboard side by a projectile 14km (7.5 nautical miles) southeast of Oman’s port of Dahit, the ‌British navy agency added.

Another maritime security source told the Reuters news agency that the vessel was likely targeted by a drone, although it was not clear yet who carried out the strike.

The IMO on Tuesday began evacuating 600 ships and around 11,000 mariners stranded by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Israeli war on Iran, helping them leave the Gulf through two routes – one via Iranian waters and another via Omani waters with US oversight.

On Thursday, the head of the IMO said the plan to move stranded ships out of the Gulf will be put on hold.

“I have decided to temporarily pause [the evacuation plan’s] implementation in order to reconfirm that the necessary safety guarantees continue to be in place for the ships on our evacuation list and all those in the region,” IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement.

He said the agency had secured the necessary safety guarantees and verified conditions for safe navigation before the plan began. But the latest suspension came after they were informed of the attack on a vessel that had passed through the strait.

Maritime security reporting identified the vessel as the Singapore-flagged container ship, Ever Lovely. The ship was not operating under the IMO evacuation framework.

The report of a strike on the ship came hours after Iran told vessels to stop using the route through the strait without Tehran’s permission.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ordered two Panama-flagged ships to change course earlier on Thursday, British maritime security company Ambrey said

After the incident, ⁠the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), a body set up by Iran to ⁠manage the Strait of Hormuz, said that transit outside its own designated routes “will not be covered by the guarantee of safe passage”.

“Consequences arising from passage through unauthorised routes shall be ‌the responsibility of the owner, operator, and vessel commander,” the PGSA added on X.

‘Moving cautiously’

The evacuation effort by the IMO comes against the backdrop of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed last week between the United States and Iran to work towards ending the US-Israeli war on Iran.

After the war began on February 28, Tehran had effectively closed off the strait, leaving vessels stranded on both sides.

MarineTraffic confirmed 70 verified crossings on Wednesday and 31 on Tuesday by commercial and energy-laden vessels.

“Operators are still moving cautiously rather than returning to fully normal traffic patterns,” the ship tracking firm said. That compares to pre-war levels of around 120 vessels per day.

Oman’s Defence Ministry said the evacuation would be phased, warning that the current environment creates an elevated collision risk and requires gradual, controlled movement of ships. Denmark has also said it will join an international maritime mission led by France and the UK to help reopen the waterway.