The Joint Maritime Information Center said that the U.S. has established an “enhanced security area” to the south of usual shipping routes to support transit.
It said vessels should consider routing via Oman territorial waters as usual routes should be considered “extremely hazardous due the presence of mines that have not been fully surveyed and mitigated.”
Iran’s Navy shared a new map of what it said was the area of the strait under its control, though it was not clear whether this represented any change.
Passage must be carried out in coordination with Tehran, its military command cautioned. “We warn that any foreign armed force, especially the aggressive military of America, should they intend to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz, will be subjected to attack,” Major General Pilot Ali Abdollahi said in a statement carried by state TV channel IRIB.
Maritime movements that are inconsistent with Tehran’s “declared principles” will face serious risks, said Hossein Mohebbi, a spokesman for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Hundreds of ships and thousands of crew members have been stranded in the area since Iran launched attacks and threatened shipping in the wake of the joint U.S.-Israeli assault more than two months ago.
Many of them are running low on food and other necessities, Trump said, calling his move to free them up a “humanitarian gesture” by the U.S.
On Monday, South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said it suspected that a South Korean-flagged cargo vessel has been attacked at the Strait of Hormuz and that no casualties of South Korean crew has been reported.
In a statement, it said that at about 8:40 p.m. (7:40 a.m. ET) Monday, a “suspected attack” had been launched on the HMM Hamu cargo vessel, which was carrying 24 crew members. The ship had been at anchor outside the port limits of Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates, it added.
“So far, no personnel casualties have been reported although an explosion from the vessel on the port side of the engine room has been reported, based on the information relayed from another vessel,” the statement said. “The vessel is currently standing by based on the report via phone.”
Two other ships were attacked in the strait this weekend, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said.
Trump’s announcement was done without industry coordination, leaving shipping companies scrambling for details, industry figures said.
“The overall security situation for the shipping industry is currently unchanged,” Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer with shipping association BIMCO, told NBC News in an email Monday.
He questioned whether Trump’s plan was sustainable longer term, and said it risked “hostilities breaking out again.”
