A ship was hit by an unidentified projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday in the first reported attack after an interim US-Iran peace deal, a significant setback to efforts to restore traffic through the vital energy thoroughfare. 

The Ever Lovely, a medium-sized, Singapore-flagged container ship, was struck on the side and sustained damage to the bridge while it was sailing to the southeast of Oman, according to alerts sent by security consultants and seen by Bloomberg News. The vessel was still sailing through the narrow waterway in the early hours of Friday, ship-tracking data show. 

UK Maritime Trade Operations, which liaises between merchant shipping and the military, confirmed the attack but did not name the vessel. It advised ships to “transit with caution.” 

The Taiwan and Singapore units of Evergreen Marine Corp., which list the ship as part of its fleet, didn’t immediately respond to emailed requests seeking comment.

Oil prices, which had earlier returned to pre-war levels, turned higher on the news, with Brent crude touching session highs close to $76 a barrel. Thursday’s strike comes after a period of relative calm in the aftermath of a preliminary agreement between Washington and Tehran that reopens the chokepoint and has prompted an increased number of transits.

Iran’s foreign affairs ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

A White House official said it was too soon to say who had struck the ship. Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, the official said that the US was looking into which party was responsible, including whether it was an action ordered by high levels of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or a rogue decision by lower-level personnel. There were no deaths or environmental damage reported.

US President Donald Trump did not address the episode, but at a White House dinner for farmers on Thursday night, he said Iran would soon be buying US wheat and soybeans. “That process is going to be starting pretty soon. It’s going to be pretty big too,” he said.

If Iran claims responsibility for what UKMTO classified as an attack, it would shake the fragile confidence of shipowners and crews that they can once again sail through the oil corridor safely. Tehran has repeatedly said that ships can’t pass Hormuz without its permission, and a handful of tankers turned around earlier in the day after reportedly getting warnings from the Iranian Navy.

Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority said Thursday that any transit occurring in routes outside its framework would not be eligible for insurance coverage or be protected by “safe-passage guarantees.”

Vessels had been racing out of Hormuz since an interim peace deal between the US and Iran came into effect last week, quickly adding millions of barrels of crude supply. Gulf energy producers have begun ramping up production as flows through Hormuz appeared to be holding up.

Following the attack on Thursday, the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations’ global shipping regulator, said it was pausing its evacuation operations in the strait. 

“I have been informed of an attack today in the Gulf of Oman on a vessel which passed through the Strait of Hormuz,” IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement. “This vessel did not transit under IMO’s evacuation framework. I have always reiterated that the safety of the seafarers remains paramount. Therefore, to ensure a coordinated approach and navigational safety, the evacuation plan will be paused until further clarity is obtained.”

The organization said on Tuesday that it had received safety guarantees that could allow hundreds of ships to exit the Persian Gulf through the strait. Still, even before the IMO plan was announced, there were already signs that traffic was picking up.

Two key exit routes through Hormuz have emerged over the past several weeks because the normal one through the middle is thought to have been mined. One is near Iran, while the other hugs Oman’s coastline and is protected by the US.

Two Supertankers

A few hours earlier, at least three commercial vessels, including two oil supertankers, appeared to turn around while attempting to exit Hormuz on the Oman side. Shipping intelligence company Windward Maritime said the U-turns came after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps instructed vessels to turn around using radio calls and social media platforms.

Not all ships turned around the same time as those that turned back, according to tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Some continued their exits. Iranian media also reported that Tehran was reasserting its control over transits. 

Traffic through Hormuz quickly picked up after an interim peace deal between the US and Iran took effect last week. However, there have been glitches, including when Iran said last weekend that the waterway was shut. Tehran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority said last week that no ships are allowed to transit Hormuz without its permission. 

In addition to three outbound U-turns, a fourth ship appeared to turn around after sailing toward Hormuz from the Gulf of Oman, the vessel tracking data show. 

Source: The Hindu Business Line 

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