A cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, seen from near the border of Oman's Musandam Governorate in March. [Reuters]
A cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, seen from near the border of Oman's Musandam Governorate in March. [Reuters]

Iran has placed 46 vessels on a sanctions list — including ships owned by South Korea's Sinokor — for allegedly violating protocols it requires for transit through the Strait of Hormuz. The move came after the United States announced sweeping plans to sanction countries that do business with Iran, and is widely interpreted as Tehran's effort to tighten its grip on the strait rather than yield to American pressure.

The Persian Gulf Strait Authority, an Iranian body, posted a list of 46 vessels on its official X account Monday (local time), saying the ships had violated Iran's transit protocols for the strait and would be placed under sanctions.

The list includes vessels owned by South Korea's Sinokor and ships belonging to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Iran warned that the listed vessels "will face restrictions on future passage, including fines, detention or seizure." It added that cargo owners should check the list of non-compliant ships before chartering vessels in order to "avoid potential problems."

The Financial Times reported that most of the sanctioned vessels are oil tankers that had been rerouting around the Strait of Hormuz to avoid the risk. Some had already been struck by Iranian missiles while attempting to pass through. According to the International Maritime Organization, the cargo ship Minoan Dignity was hit in an Iranian missile strike last week, killing the chief engineer.

Iran's vessel sanctions followed a Financial Times op-ed by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in which he vowed to sever Iran's economic lifelines. Bessent then announced Monday (local time) the launch of what he called "Operation Economic Outcast," threatening to sanction all countries and entities that do business with Iran.

Iran appears to have imposed the vessel sanctions to signal that it will not bow to such threats and will not relinquish control of the Strait of Hormuz. Martin Kelly, head of advisory at consulting firm EOS Risk, told the Financial Times that Iran's threats represented "the first tangible manifestation of the target profile in the Strait of Hormuz." He added: "From Iran's perspective, Hormuz is closed to all vessels without Iranian permission — but now we have a very specific list of ships, some of which have already been attacked."

According to maritime analytics firm Windward, the number of vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz stood at about 16 per day last week, down from more than 130 daily before the war began.

Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Ministry is set to meet with an Omani delegation this week to discuss "security in the Strait of Hormuz and maritime shipping lanes."


kate01@heraldcorp.com