Iran Increases Pressure on Shipping Doubling “Non-Compliant” List
Iran’s so-called Persian Gulf Strait Authority, without fanfare, on Monday released a new list of vessels it calls “non-compliant,” doubling the number of vessels and reiterating its further limitations. It comes after weeks of increased attacks on shipping, broad claims from Iran, and was followed by a small retaliatory strike by the United States.
The Iranians continue to assert that ships added to the listing “shall face restrictions on future passages, including fines, detention, or confiscation.” The ships are reported not to have complied with the demand for transiting only through the northern channel near Iran and clearing their passage with the Iranians.
The list now totals 240 vessels, with an additional 114 ships on this latest version. Risk intelligence firm Orbital issued an analysis of the update noting that only half the vessels (118 of the 240) are crude oil tankers and that they made up 65 of the additions. Other types of vessels include LPG and LNG carriers as well as a few bulk carriers and four containerships.
Orbital’s analysis shows, however, that the concentration is on the vessels of the Gulf states and their national shipping companies. The Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, Bahri and NCC, ADNOC, Nakilat and QatarEnergy, and Safeen and AD Ports are all heavily targeted, with a total of 72 of the vessels listed and 25 among the latest additions.
The single largest group, however, is vessels linked to South Korea’s Sinokor, and this follows Iran’s threat to the shipping company days earlier. On October 27, the PGSA accused Sinokor of having “committed the highest number of passage violations over the past three months.”
Orbital notes that Sinokor vessels and the Gulf States’ vessels collectively make up more than half of the list and the new additions. It notes that the list, however, includes three vessels that Iran has already sunk. Five of the vessels are under sanctions, and seven have no registered owner.
Iran’s threat extends further as it reiterates that “cargo owners shipping to/from the Persian Gulf must review the Non-Compliance List (NCL) in order to avoid potential issues.” It also says that any vessel cooperating with listed vessels (via STS, transshipment, etc.) will be added to the list.
The additions came as UK Maritime Trade Operations reported that October concluded with one more attack inside the Arabian (Persian) Gulf, the sixth attack inside the Gulf since October 7. It also received reports of three attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, bringing its total to 18 confirmed attacks since October 6. It notes that Iran continues to harass vessels as well, while it has been pointed out that vessels are delaying or not reporting some incidents to UKMTO and others.
While there have been reports of new indirect discussions through mediators in an attempt to resolve the war, the United States reportedly struck Qeshm Island overnight. Central Command has not acknowledged the strikes, but Iranian reports said there were explosions late on Monday into Tuesday. Off-the-record comments from sources to the Associated Press said U.S. forces struck Iran’s surface-to-air missile sites after a launch against a U.S. plane.
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Donald Trump dismissed the overnight strikes as minor and not the start of new efforts. U.S. officials, however, have not acknowledged the increased level of strikes against shipping in the last month. CENTCOM continues to dismiss the claims of mines, asserting the Strait of Hormuz has been cleared and remains open.
AP, however, highlights that the region remains on edge over the prospects of further U.S. strikes in the coming days or a possible resumption of full-scale operations. Trump had said the U.S. would not move before today’s midterm elections but has said he needed to decide on actions to bring the war to a close.
