Dubai: A United Nations agency has suspended its programme to evacuate stranded vessels through the critical Strait of Hormuz after the British military reported that a commercial ship was struck by a projectile off the coast of Oman.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) announced that the coordinated initiative to guide stranded cargo out of the Persian Gulf will remain on hold until the agency can verify safe passage guarantees for the region. The pause followed a series of successful transits by tankers utilising a newly established route backed by the UN and Oman.

According to Arsenio Dominguez, the secretary-general of the IMO, the targeted vessel was not part of the official U.N. evacuation fleet. A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, stated that the targeted merchant ship, the ‘Ever Lovely’, was struck by an Iranian drone operated by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center confirmed the vessel sustained damage, though no casualties or environmental impacts were reported.

The attack occurred just hours after Tehran's newly formed Persian Gulf Strait Authority warned on X that maritime transit outside its designated corridors “will not be covered by the guarantee of safe passage”. The naval wing of the Revolutionary Guard reinforced this stance via Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, declaring: “The only authorised route for passing through the Strait of Hormuz is the one declared by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Vessel traffic outside these routes is extremely dangerous and prohibited. Violators will be dealt with.”

The escalation comes amid delicate, behind-the-scenes negotiations between Washington and Tehran over an interim 60-day peace memorandum. The proposed deal aims to resolve the maritime standoff and address Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpile. Prior to reports of the drone strike, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio—who is visiting the Gulf to reassure allies—emphasized Washington's commitment to securing the alternative shipping lane, noting, “If that stops, then we’re going to have a problem.”

Though traffic through the strategic waterway had recently seen a modest uptick, it remains far below prewar levels. Iran previously mined the central deepwater corridor following U.S. and Israeli military strikes on February 28. Complicating regional peace efforts, a separate fragile truce in Lebanon is showing signs of strain, with Lebanese officials reporting five dead from recent Israeli airstrikes targeting suspected Hezbollah members, and Israel reporting the death of a reservist soldier.

 

AP