Six months of war: 20 dead in 68 incidents near Hormuz, IMO says
In total, 68 incidents have been confirmed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in the Gulf and neighbouring bodies of water, the equivalent of one every 2.6 days.
The Strait of Hormuz has been the main focus of the six-month war between Iran and the US and Israel, with many commercial vessels targeted. (AFP photo)
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The Strait of Hormuz has been the main focus of the six-month war between Iran and the US and Israel, with many commercial vessels targeted in the vital conduit for oil and gas shipments.
In total, 68 incidents have been confirmed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in the Gulf and neighbouring bodies of water, the equivalent of one every 2.6 days.
Across all incidents, at least 20 seafarers or port workers were reported killed, 35 wounded and one missing, the UN maritime agency said.
About half of the incidents have involved tankers, 20 percent container ships and 15 percent bulk carriers.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) classified 47 of the incidents as attacks.
Liberia-flagged vessels have been most affected, being involved in 13 incidents, followed by 10 vessels each from Panama and the Marshall Islands.
Iran-flagged vessels were reported as being involved in four incidents.
The rate of incidents has ebbed and flowed during the various phases of the war.
From the outbreak of war at the end of February until an agreement establishing a framework for peace talks was struck in mid-June, an incident was reported on average once every 2.3 days.
Incidents during this period accounted for 16 of the deaths and 19 of the injuries, and were recorded throughout the Gulf -- both east and west of Hormuz, and off the coasts of Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
No seafarers or other workers were reported killed, missing or injured during this period.
Four of the five incidents during this period were clustered off the Omani coast around the strait's narrowest point, along a route not authorised by Iranian authorities.
Iran, which hopes to retain control of the Hormuz after the war and charge fees for passage, had warned vessels against taking the alternative route.
Since talks collapsed, the rate has climbed almost back to pre-talks levels, with an incident recorded on average every 2.8 days.
Four seafarers or workers have been killed, 16 injured and one reported missing as a result.
Sailors stranded
Six months since the start of the Middle East war, the strategic Strait of Hormuz remains largely paralysed, with thousands of sailors still stranded in the Gulf and commodity carrier traffic way below its normal level.
Only a few transits per day
Before Iran blocked the strait in response to joint US-Israeli strikes in February, around one fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas exports passed through the waterway.
Iran's Guards have also warned of a "danger zone" covering 1,400 square kilometres where mines may be present.
After Iran closed the strait on March 1, commodity carrier traffic plummeted to an average of 10 transits per day, compared with a daily average of 95 in February, according to an AFP analysis of data from maritime tracker Kpler.
New routes, 'dark' transits
Before the war, vessels crossed the strait freely via a route through the centre of the waterway adopted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
There are now two distinct routes: one to the north, near the Iranian coast -- the only one approved by Tehran -- and another to the south, between the Omani coast and potentially mined areas.
During the relatively calm period between June 17 and July 7, an average of nine ships per day used the Iranian route and eight the Omani one. The rest transited via unidentified routes or the traditional IMO corridor.
Ever since the ceasefire collapsed on July 8, two-thirds of transits have become "dark", or unknown, compared with less than one percent before the war, according to Kpler.
These transits involve vessels whose exact route cannot be confirmed due to insufficient data stemming from disabled transponders, jammed signals or missing satellite imagery.
Thousands of sailors stranded
Some 6,000 sailors and 500 ships have remained stuck in the Gulf since the beginning of the conflict, the IMO told AFP.
The organisation said there were "ongoing discussions" to ensure a secure maritime route, adding that their outcome "depends on de-escalation in the region".
The IMO had begun an initiative in June to evacuate more than 11,000 seafarers stuck in the Gulf, but the effort was soon suspended following an attack on a vessel.
Over the past six months, at least 20 sailors and dockworkers have been killed in incidents or attacks in the region, according to the IMO.