UN halts SoH evacuation

thursday’s VESSEL ATTACK | New shipping corridor shut after heightened fears over security in Strait of Hormuz

Dubai: A UN agency on Thursday paused the evacuation of ships through the Strait of Hormuz after the British military said a vessel was struck by a projectile off the coast of Oman, hours after several tankers used a UN-backed route.

International Maritime Organisation head said efforts to move stranded ships out of the Persian Gulf through the strait would remain on hold until the agency receives safety guarantees for vessels on the evacuation list and those operating in the region. 

The report came hours after Iran warned vessels against using the route without Tehran’s permission. The attacked vessel was not part of the evacuation effort, said Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the UN agency.

A US official said the merchant vessel Ever Lovely was struck by an Iranian drone operated by Iran’s IRGC.

Later, Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, a government agency established to regulate shipping through the Strait, said on X transit outside its designated routes “will not be covered by the guarantee of safe passage”. 

UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said the ship sustained damage but reported no injuries or environmental impact in the atta­ck off the Oman coast. —AP

Saudi Aramco resumes oil loading at Ras Tanura

Saudi Aramco resumed crude loadings on Friday at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf after a nearly four-month halt, shipping data showed, as the world’s largest oil exporter joined a rush to move cargoes amid hopes of a return to normal, Reuters reported.

Two very large crude carriers (VLCC) operated by Saudi shipping company Bahri were loading crude at Ras Tanura, the world’s largest oil port, while another waited offshore. Each VLCC can carry up to two million barrels of oil.

Separately, Aramco and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) signed an agreement to transfer Aramco’s stakes in Pengerang Refining Company Sdn Bhd and Pengerang Petrochemical Company Sdn Bhd (PRefChem) to PETRONAS. The transfer will make PRefChem a wholly owned subsidiary of the PETRONAS Group.