An oil tanker has been forced to turn back while passing through the Strait of Hormuz under threat from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iranian forces ordered the vessel to change course and go back, and warned that it could be targeted if it did not comply.
UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the British maritime trade agency, said the incident took place about 20km, or 11 nautical miles, north of Khasab in Oman, while the tanker was crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
According to UKMTO, the IRGC contacted the tanker and ordered it to turn back. The tanker’s captain then complied with the Iranian forces’ order and the vessel went back.
The incident has brought renewed attention to the pressure on commercial shipping in the strategically important strait, through which international maritime trade is now severely disrupted.
Iran has in effect restricted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz since the war launched by the United States and Israel began on 28 February, and several attacks on commercial vessels have taken place during that time. Concern over shipping on one of the world’s most important oil routes has grown as a result.
Tehran has already said it plans to charge commercial vessels for passage through the strait from now on. That has created fresh uncertainty about the strait’s role in international trade and energy supply.
A vast quantity of oil and gas is carried through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy routes, so any prolonged obstruction to shipping there could have a major impact on the global energy market.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report