The International Maritime Organization paused its ship evacuation plan in the Persian Gulf after Iran struck a cargo vessel. (Yahoo)
The Singaporean-flagged vessel Ever Lovely was struck by “an unknown projectile” while transiting near Dahit, Oman, in the Strait of Hormuz on June 25. The projectiles struck the bridge area and windows, but all 21 crew members aboard were safe, with no Singaporean seafarers involved. The vessel sustained minor damage but remained fully operational.
The Ever Lovely is a 2015-built Singapore vessel, owned and operated by Taiwan’s Evergreen Line, departing from Umm Qasr, Iraq, to Singapore Port.
Some reports suggested that the attack was carried out by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This suspicion stems from the provisions in the recent US-Iran deal (known as the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding), which says, “the traffic of vessels will be in proportion to the numbers of pre-war traffic being restored by the Islamic Republic of Iran.” It further notes that Iran, “the Islamic Republic of Iran will make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels, with no charge for 60 days only, from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman, and vice versa.”
However, on June 18, the Iranian Foreign Ministry assured that it had taken the necessary measures to guarantee safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, and that commercial shipping traffic in the waterway was proceeding normally.
Yet on 26 June, Iranian Deputy Prime Minister Gharibabadi hit a different tone. Safe passage, he warned, ”through the Strait of Hormuz, with ambiguous arrangements, parallel routes, or decision-making outside of Iran’s considerations as the coastal state, cannot be guaranteed.”
He added that any credible framework “must be based on coordination with Iran and the provisions of paragraph five of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding. Otherwise, the outcome will be the suspension of the designated parallel route.”
Following this incident, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) condemned the attack as “unprovoked, unjustifiable, and a breach of international law”, reminding that international shipping activity must adhere to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The attack has also prompted the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to temporarily halt the emergency evacuation scheme, affecting some 11,000 stranded seafarers, among them hundreds to thousands of Southeast Asian sailors.
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