Hormuz reopening plans thrown into doubt after Evergreen boxship attack

IMO Plans to restart commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have been blown out of the water after an Evergreen containership was hit shortly after completing a transit through the waterway, prompting the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to pause its evacuation operation for vessels trapped in the Gulf. The 9,532 teu Ever Lovely was struck by a drone yesterday after using the southern route through the strait, close to the Omani side of the waterway. The ship had been transiting with two other Evergreen vessels, the 8,500 teu Ever Lotus and the 5,600 teu Ever Unicorn. Evergreen said no crew were injured and damage to the Ever Lovely was minimal, with the ship remaining seaworthy. AIS data shows the vessel has exited the area and is now heading for Singapore. The incident came just as traffic through Hormuz was beginning to recover following the IMO evacuation corridor announcement and Oman’s publication of six authorised eastbound waypoints, the first formal safe-passage routing since the strait’s closure. Following yesterday’s attack, IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez said the evacuation plan would be temporarily paused while the organisation reconfirmed that safety guarantees remained in place. “Following the launch of the IMO’s evacuation plan, through which several vessels have already been successfully evacuated, I have decided to temporarily pause its implementation,” Dominguez said. The IMO evacuation plan had been designed to move more than 11,000 seafarers out of the region after months of disruption. Earlier this week, the IMO said the operation would be carried out with Iran, Oman, other coastal states, the US and industry, and that it had secured the necessary safety guarantees to support safe navigation. Those guarantees are now being retested. Shipping organisation BIMCO said it was “deeply concerned” by the attack, describing it as a setback for efforts to evacuate ships and resume transits. “The attack is a setback in the plans to evacuate ships and resume transits through the Strait of Hormuz,” BIMCO said, adding that some transits could still be expected. The association said the incident underlined the need for clearer agreements between Washington and Tehran, warning that the wording of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding remains “not sufficiently clear”. That ambiguity is now the central problem for shipowners. Iran has warned that vessels using routes not designated by Tehran will not benefit from safe-passage guarantees, while the Oman/IMO corridor was designed precisely to give stranded ships an alternative route out of the Gulf. Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority has said transits outside its own routes would not be covered by safe-passage guarantees. Maritime analytics firm Windward said the Iran ordered vessels using the southern corridor to turn back yesterday, tracking five ships reversing course and a sixth going dark. Sam Chambers Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune. Read Next June 26, 2026 Zhonggu Logistics upsizes boxship newbuilds and lines up ship sales June 26, 2026 90 days to Splash Singapore June 26, 2026 Splash Wrap: Hormuz hope dashed June 26, 2026 A Career in Shipping: The truth about getting a job in maritime June 26, 2026 Seized tanker tests the limits of shadow fleet enforcement