In a significant development amid intensified war in West Asia, Iran on Wednesday turned back a vessel bound for Karachi after it failed to secure approval to pass through the crucial Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian Embassy in Kabul said in a statement. “The container ship SELEN was turned back by the IRGC Navy due to failure to comply with legal protocols and lack of permission to pass through the #Hormuz Strait", the statement read.
“The passage of any vessel through this waterway requires full coordination with the maritime authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran", it said. It should be noted that the Strait of Hormuz — a vital maritime chokepoint which accounts for nearly one-fifth of the global oil and gas trade — came to a near-standstill in the wake of the conflict in West Asia.
In the meantime, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy also confirmed it had intervened as the ship had failed to comply with ‘legal protocols’.
Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri in a statement said the ship was turned back for not obtaining permission to pass through the strait, adding the vessels must now coordinate transit with Iranian maritime authorities.
The vessel, SELEN (IMO: 9208459), is a small feeder containership flagged in St. Kitts and Nevis and managed by Dubai-based Exceed Oceanic Trading LLC, according latest updates to Equasis data.
Meanwhile, Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi told state broadcaster Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) that the move reflects what he called a new “sovereign regime" in the strait after decades.
“Collecting $2 million as transit fees from some vessels crossing the strait reflects Iran’s strength," Boroujerdi said.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump extended his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying the US will hold off on striking the power plant for five more days. Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social site hours ahead of his previous deadline.
Trump said the US and Iran have had "very good and productive conversations" that could yield "a complete and total resolution" in the war. Talks will continue "throughout the week," Trump said. Iran's foreign ministry denied that any negotiations with the US have taken place, and called on Washington to de-escalate tensions.
Iran had earlier threatened to strike regional power plants and float mines in the Persian Gulf if Trump goes ahead with his threat to bomb Iranian energy stations or order a land invasion. Gulf nations depend on the power plants to desalinate the water its citizens need to survive.
The death toll from the war has risen to more than 1,500 people in Iran, more than 1,000 people in Lebanon, 15 in Israel and 13 US military members, as well as a number of civilians on land and sea in the Gulf region. Millions of people in Lebanon and Iran have been displaced.
