IMO pauses Gulf ship evacuation plan after container vessel hit by projectile off Oman

According to CNBC, the International Maritime Organization paused its effort to evacuate ships and seafarers stranded in the Middle East Gulf after a container ship was struck by an unknown projectile near Oman’s coast on Thursday. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the plan was being temporarily halted to reconfirm that safety guarantees remain in place for vessels on the evacuation list and others in the region; a U.S. official told MSNBC that Iran was behind the attack and said the U.S. was reviewing the reports. The initiative, launched on Tuesday, aimed to help hundreds of stranded ships and thousands of seafarers exit the Gulf via either a northern route through Iranian waters or a southern route through Omani waters with U.S. oversight. Lloyd’s List Intelligence said 125 vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz in the week after the ceasefire, the highest weekly total since the war began in late February, though traffic remains below pre-war levels; Lloyd’s also said at least two vessels made U-turns after Iran warned against using the southern route. The attacked ship flew a Singapore flag and was owned by Evergreen, and Dominguez said it did not transit under the IMO evacuation framework.