Hormuz Authority Warns Ship Owners Over ‘Illegal Routes’
TEHRAN -- The Iranian
authority controlling the Strait of Hormuz warned ship owners that some charterers are forcing vessels to use illegal routes to cross the waterway, saying such actions could expose vessels and their operators to financial and life losses.
In a post on X, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) said it has received reports that “some charterers are forcing vessels to use illegal routes.”
The authority said such practices “risk financial and life losses for the vessel, owner, master, and crew, and seriously restricts its future Strait of Hormuz passage.”
“Ship owners must be vigilant against such illegal actions by some charterers,” it said.
It added that, if such conduct is proven, the charterers will be placed on the PGSA’s Non-Compliance List (NCL), with restrictions imposed on the passage of all their vessels through the strait.
Iran closed the waterway after the U.S. and Israel launched an unprovoked terrorist war on the Islamic Republic on February 28. Tehran and Washington agreed on a 60-day reopening period as part of a Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding in June.
Iran devised the PGSA toward the implementation of the understanding, but American violations forced the country to reestablish the closure. Tehran has conditioned reopening of the waterway on realization of a number of prerequisites.