The International Maritime Organization, a specialised agency of the United Nations has temporarily suspended its plans to evacuate ships and seafarers stranded in the Middle East Gulf following an attack on a vessel in the Gulf of Oman.

The decision comes after a container ship was struck by an unidentified projectile off the coast of Oman on Thursday.

In a statement, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the evacuation operation has been put on hold to reassess security conditions and ensure that adequate safety guarantees remain in place for vessels on the evacuation list, as well as for all ships operating in the region.

Responding to the reported attack, a U.S. official said, “We are aware of these reports and are looking into them. President Trump has been clear that Iran cannot interfere with the free flow of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.”

The IMO evacuation initiative, launched on Tuesday, was designed to help hundreds of stranded vessels and thousands of seafarers safely leave the Middle East Gulf.

The plan offered two evacuation routes: a northern corridor through Iranian waters and a southern passage through Omani waters under U.S. oversight.

The initiative followed an interim 60-day truce between the United States and Iran, which encouraged shipowners to resume transits through the Strait of Hormuz while negotiations toward a permanent peace agreement continued.

Shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz has begun to recover following the ceasefire, although traffic remains significantly below levels recorded before the conflict.

According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, 125 vessels transited the strategic waterway in the week after the ceasefire, marking the highest weekly volume since the outbreak of hostilities in late February.

Despite the improvement, shipping activity has yet to return to pre-war levels.