IMO suspends Hormuz evacuation after cargo ship struck on UN-proposed corridor

Summary

The International Maritime Organization suspended its plan to evacuate more than 11,000 sailors stranded in the Strait of Hormuz after the Singapore-flagged M/V Ever Lovely was struck by a projectile on June 25 while following the southern corridor the IMO had proposed as a safe passage route. The Ever Lovely had been transiting the channel, which runs closer to Oman's coastline, when it was hit. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the evacuation was paused until there were "necessary safety guarantees." The IRGC declared that safe passage through the strait is only possible on Iran-designated routes and that ships using other corridors would be targeted.

The split

The IMO framed its corridor as a humanitarian measure to move stranded crews out of a conflict zone; Iran framed the same corridor as an unauthorized intrusion on routes it controls. Iran's position is that the MoU gives Iran authority over commercial routing through the strait and that ships using alternative corridors are effectively violating that framework. The US and Western maritime authorities reject this interpretation, arguing the strait is an international waterway under UNCLOS. The strike on the Ever Lovely while it was following the IMO route proved Iran's willingness to enforce its position.

By the numbers

• 11,000+, sailors stranded aboard vessels in or near the Strait of Hormuz as of the evacuation pause
• 1, vessel struck while following the IMO-proposed southern corridor (M/V Ever Lovely)
• 0, confirmed casualties aboard the Ever Lovely, though the vessel sustained bridge damage

Why it matters

The IMO pause means thousands of maritime workers remain in a conflict zone with no extraction plan, and the standoff over corridor authority has now hardened into a de facto Iran veto over international shipping routes. Any resumed evacuation attempt requires either Iran's consent or a security guarantee that has not materialized.

What to watch

• Whether the IMO resumes the evacuation and under what routing arrangement
• How long the 11,000+ stranded sailors can be sustained aboard their vessels
• Whether Iran formally offers its own evacuation corridor and what conditions it attaches
• Escalation on June 27 and whether it further delays any resumed plan