The development of the situation in the Strait of Hormuz is for another day the leading topic in the Western press on the eve of the upcoming round of technical negotiations between the United States and Iran in Switzerland to reach a final peace agreement.
Great Britain
An attack in the Strait of Hormuz has interrupted the plan to evacuate the blocked ships, writes the British newspaper "Financial Times" in the headline. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has temporarily suspended its plan to evacuate ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz after a vessel passing through the vital waterway was attacked yesterday.
The UN agency did not name the ship or who attacked it, but the attack is another test of a temporary agreement between the United States and Iran to open the strait and extend a 60-day ceasefire between the two countries.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said earlier on Wednesday that coordination with its naval forces was "mandatory" for ships passing through the strait and warned vessels not to use any unauthorized routes.
"Some authorities have announced a new route for ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz without informing or coordinating with the Islamic Republic," the IRGC said in a statement, without specifying which authorities. "This route is unacceptable and extremely dangerous," the Revolutionary Guards added.
The IMO said the ship that was attacked was not passing through the strait as part of its evacuation plan. "I have been informed of an attack in the Gulf of Oman against a ship that was passing through the Strait of Hormuz," said IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez.
"I have always reiterated that the safety of seafarers remains paramount. "Therefore, in order to ensure a coordinated approach and the safety of shipping, the evacuation plan will be temporarily suspended until further notice," he added. The UK's Merchant Marine Operations Agency (MMO) said a cargo ship had been hit by an "unspecified projectile" off the Omani coast. There were no casualties in the attack, but crews were advised to proceed through the area with "increased caution." The vessel was the Singapore-flagged container ship Ever Lovely, owned by Evergreen Shipping, two people familiar with the situation said. Under a framework agreement reached this month between the US and Iran, the Islamic Republic committed to gradually opening the strait while mine clearance is carried out over the first 30 days of the extended ceasefire. Opening the strait is a key priority for US President Donald Trump, who is seeking to ease the global energy crisis caused by the war that the US and Israel launched against Iran in late February, notes the "Financial Times".
USA
A ship was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran made threats against the UN-backed route, the American newspaper "Washington Post" headlined. The publication notes that the attack on the cargo ship comes after a sharp increase in the number of ships using the new sea route established by the United Nations and Oman.
The attack quickly dashed hopes that maritime traffic could find a narrow passage through the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the Washington Post reports.
The cargo ship was hit by an unknown projectile that damaged its bridge but caused no casualties, the UNCTAD said. It is not yet clear who was responsible for the attack. However, Iran issued a warning yesterday about using the new shipping route.
The CGIR said that safe passage through the strait is limited to routes designated by Tehran. The attack comes as maritime traffic through the new route, which passes near Oman, has surged, according to the Washington Post.
Nearly 50 cargo ships passed through the strait on Wednesday, the largest number in a single day since the Iran-Iraq war, according to maritime intelligence firm Windward. The company estimated that 13.4 million barrels of crude oil had been exported through the strait, but the volume of traffic was only about half of what it had been before the conflict, measured in value terms.
Most of the increased traffic was through a route designated as a temporary corridor by the IMO and Omani authorities. It is not yet clear whether maritime traffic has been completely halted by yesterday's attack, according to the Washington Post.