Iranian strait authority issues updated list of sanctioned vessels

The Persian Gulf Strait Authority, established by Iran to oversee transit requests in the Strait of Hormuz, unveiled an updated list of 77 vessels breaching Iranian protocols for passage through the strategic waterway on Monday. The authority's announcement was issued amid heightened global concerns over energy supply, following recent attacks targeting oil transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, coupled with a lack of progress towards Middle East peace.

The entities listed will be subject to various restrictions on future passage, including fines, detention, or confiscation. The authority noted that vessels willing to cooperate would be added to the list. In response, insurance companies, P&I clubs, and classification societies have been cautioned against providing services to these vessels to avert potential repercussions from engaging with them. The body emphasized the importance of refraining from such engagements to mitigate any adverse consequences.

Preliminary ship-tracking data indicated that commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz had plummeted to single-digit numbers per day over the weekend, a stark decline from the 10-day average of 14. These figures did not account for any vessels that may have traversed the strait with their Automatic Identification System transponders deactivated to evade detection.