Iran released a list of 77 vessels violating Hormuz Strait transit regulations on the 14th (local time).
Several vessels owned or operated by South Korean shipping company Sinokor were also included on the list.
The expansion of the list needs to be viewed separately from the enforcement of actual restrictions.
Three-line summary
1. The Hormuz sanctions list has grown to 77 vessels
2. Several Sinokor vessels were also included
3. Transit volume must be viewed together with AIS limitations
The 77-vessel list released on the 14th and PGSA’s warning
The Persian Gulf and Strait Authority (PGSA), established by Iran to manage transit through the Strait of Hormuz, released a list on the 14th local time of 77 vessels violating transit regulations. According to reports by Yonhap News Agency and Asia Economy, the PGSA said that vessels on the list could face restrictions, including fines, detention, or confiscation, if they pass through the strait in the future.
The list has grown from the 45 vessels first announced on the 24th of last month. Newsis reported that 21 vessels were newly added this time. The PGSA warned that other vessels cooperating with those subject to sanctions could also be added to the list.
Here, 77 vessels refers to the size of the list released by an Iranian body. Whether fines, detention, or confiscation have actually been imposed on the vessels cannot be confirmed from the reported content alone. The possibility of additional designations is also a warning stated by the PGSA, not an outcome that has already been decided.
Sinokor vessels and warning concerning shipping services
Several of the 77 vessels are owned or operated by South Korean shipping company Sinokor. Newsis reported that, at the time of the announcement on the 24th of last month, five Sinokor-owned vessels were known to have been included on the sanctions list.
The PGSA also warned insurers, P&I clubs (protection and indemnity associations), and classification societies to refrain from providing services to vessels on the list. P&I clubs are mutual insurance associations in the shipping industry that provide shipowners and charterers with coverage for third-party maritime liability. The scope of this warning is broad in that it referred not only to the vessels themselves but also to insurance- and classification-related services.
Newsis reported that the list included very large crude carriers, liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers, and petroleum product carriers.
Weekend transit volume counted in the single digits per day
Preliminary vessel-tracking data released on the 14th showed that the number of merchant vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend was in the single digits per day. This was below the recent 10-day average of 14 vessels per day.
However, the count excludes vessels that may have traveled with their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transceivers turned off to avoid vessel-location tracking. This is why a decrease in tracking data cannot be considered exactly equivalent to a decrease in the total actual transit volume.
The changes confirmed in this matter are that the list, which began with 45 vessels, expanded to 77 vessels, and that vessels linked to Sinokor were also included. Transit-volume figures must be read together with the limitation that they are preliminary counts reflecting only vessels detected by AIS.
References
Tags #StraitofHormuz #Iran #PersianGulfandStraitAuthority #PGSA #Sinokor #Shipping #VesselSanctions #TransitRegulations #P&IClub #AIS #OilTanker #LNGCarrier