Iran's Revolutionary Guards struck a Singapore-flagged commercial vessel with a drone in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, damaging the ship in an incident that challenges a recent U.S.-Iran agreement to restore commercial shipping through the strategic waterway, CBS News reported, citing a U.S. official.
The vessel's bridge was damaged after the drone hit its starboard side off the coast of Dahit, Oman, according to an advisory issued by the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Centre. The advisory said no casualties or environmental damage were reported and did not identify the source of the attack.
The latest strike comes just a week after the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at restoring shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after months of disruption. The incident has raised fresh concerns over the security of commercial vessels using one of the world's most important energy trade routes.
IMO Suspends Evacuation Plan
Following the attack, the United Nations' International Maritime Organization temporarily suspended a plan introduced only days earlier to evacuate many vessels stranded in the Persian Gulf, CBS News reported.
The IMO said the vessel had already passed through the Strait of Hormuz before it was struck and "did not transit under IMO's evacuation framework."
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the suspension was necessary "in order to reconfirm that the necessary safety guarantees continue to be in place."
"I have always reiterated that the safety of the seafarers remains paramount," Dominguez said in a statement. "Therefore, to ensure a coordinated approach and navigational safety, the evacuation plan will be paused until further clarity is obtained."
Shipping Had Started Returning
Under the memorandum of understanding signed last week, Iran is expected to arrange toll-free safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz "using its best efforts" for 60 days.
The agreement had fuelled expectations that commercial shipping would resume through the waterway, which normally carries about one-fifth of the world's oil but had remained largely closed during months of conflict.
According to data from analytics firm Kpler, ship traffic had already begun recovering. Seventy vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, compared with six a week earlier. Kpler said part of the increase could reflect a "post-deal release of delayed traffic."
As vessel traffic increased, global oil prices fell.
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