The United Nations International Maritime Organization suspended plans on Friday to evacuate more than 11,000 sailors stranded in the Strait of Hormuz following a missile strike on a commercial vessel, Al Jazeera reported. The critical rescue mission was set to commence following months of intense regional standoffs, but the sudden escalation has raised fresh safety anxieties. Maritime authorities indicated that the high-risk operation cannot proceed without absolute security guarantees for the stranded crews and rescue teams.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez announced that while several crews had already been successfully extracted, the agency chose to pause the operation until the necessary safety guarantees are established for rescue workers. According to Reuters and Al Jazeera, the Singapore-flagged cargo vessel Ever Lovely was struck by an unknown projectile approximately 7.5 nautical miles southeast of Dahit, Oman, on Thursday. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a Royal Navy security agency, confirmed the attack and stated that all 21 crew members on board were safe with no casualties reported. Singapore Maritime and Port Authority expressed deep concern over the unprovoked incident, calling it a direct breach of international maritime law.
This unexpected escalation occurred just one week after the United States and Iran signed a historic memorandum of understanding on June 17, which officially ended active military hostilities and included framework provisions to reopen the strategic shipping lane. Tehran had severely restricted commercial transit through the strait in early March following a series of direct US and Israeli military strikes on Iranian infrastructure on February 28. In response, Washington enforced a comprehensive naval blockade in April targeting all Iran-linked vessels attempting to pass through the waterway. The intense conflict left thousands of international seafarers trapped aboard commercial ships, resulting in dozens of deaths from missile exchanges, with a significant majority of the victims being Indian nationals.
Although commercial maritime traffic slowly resumed following the signing of the peace agreement, profound disagreements persist between Washington and Tehran regarding designated shipping routes and whether Iran has the legal right to collect transit fees. Oman and the IMO recently proposed an alternative southern shipping corridor that would allow vessels to partially bypass maritime zones under direct Iranian control. Tehran immediately rejected the proposal, arguing that the corridor was established without diplomatic consultation and poses severe navigational hazards due to ongoing underwater demining operations. While Iranian officials have not claimed responsibility for the strike against the Singaporean vessel off the coast of Oman, they have notably refrained from denying involvement.
What remains unclear is whether this renewed naval friction will permanently destabilize the fragile peace framework brokered by regional mediators or ignite a broader confrontation affecting global energy supply chains. Marine traffic data indicated that the targeted vessel was actively navigating the disputed southern route favored by Oman and Western allies when the projectile struck. To counter growing security threats in the corridor, Denmark announced its decision on Tuesday to join a British and French-led multinational maritime coalition to safeguard the commercial waterway. Diplomatic sources in Qatar and Pakistan are reportedly working to re-engage both sides in high-level talks to ensure the safety of the stranded seafarers.
