Oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz despite Iran threats as traffic slowly picks up and oil prices fall - NBC News

The United Nations’ shipping agency on Thursday said it would pause an evacuation effort ​to get hundreds of stranded ships out through the Strait of Hormuz after a vessel was attacked ​in the Gulf of Oman. “I have ​been informed of an attack today ⁠in the Gulf of Oman on ​a vessel which passed through the Strait ​of Hormuz,” Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the ​U.N.’s International Maritime Organization (IMO), said in ​a statement. The vessel “did not transit” under the evacuation framework set by the body, he said, adding: “I have decided to temporarily pause its implementation ‌in ⁠order to reconfirm that the necessary safety guarantees continue to be in place for the ships on our evacuation list ​and all ​those ⁠in the region.” The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center, an organization run by the British navy that helps protect commercial shipping in high-risk areas, said earlier Thursday that a cargo vessel off Oman had been hit by an “unknown projectile,” causing damage to its bridge. No casualties were reported, and the ship was not identified. Vessels had earlier continued to pass along the United Nations-recommended route, but Iran warned Thursday that any ship not following its own approved route, close to the Iranian coastline, “will be dealt with accordingly.” The Revolutionary Guard Navy warned that transit otherwise is “highly dangerous and prohibited,” appearing to condemn the route set out by the IMO. “A few hours ago, without prior notice or coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, certain authorities announced a new route for vessel traffic in the Strait of Hormuz,” it said. It warned that “any violating vessels will be dealt with accordingly,” without elaborating. The initial U.S.-Iran agreement included reopening the key trade route, but the two sides have been engaged in public disputes over the terms of that deal. The initial 60-day agreement brought significant relief to energy markets, the shipping industry and the thousands of sailors stranded in the Persian Gulf. However, it left key questions unresolved, including how traffic would be managed and how mines purportedly laid by Iran would be cleared. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, touring Gulf nations in an effort to reassure U.S. allies over the deal, said Thursday the waters of the Strait of Hormuz “do not belong to any nation-state.” Traffic has also remained far below prewar levels, even as some vessels continued to cross. A Liberian-flagged vessel — perhaps aptly named the Stoic Warrior — attempted its exit out of the Persian Gulf early Thursday, moving westward along the coastline of the United Arab Emirates. It then ventured close to Oman’s coast and continued to bend along Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, avoiding Iranian waters. Another vessel, the British-flagged World Prize, also appeared to be transiting through the Omani route Thursday morning, an NBC News review of MarineTraffic data showed. Like Stoic Warrior and World Prize, two dozen ships have taken the Omani route since 5 a.m. ET Thursday, with some still sailing along that route. But at least three ships exiting the Persian Gulf through that route turned back Thursday. Hapag Lloyd, one of the world’s largest shipping companies, confirmed Thursday that it no longer has any ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. A spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News that its vessels have all “since safely left the Gulf” after “careful assessment of the security situation and in close coordination with the relevant authorities, security partners and our teams on board and ashore.” The uncertainty means that many shipowners are still erring on the side of caution, so movement through the strait is more of a trickle than a rush.