Ship captains in and around the Strait of Hormuz heard an unusual message on their radios on Thursday, May 7. Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization was offering help.
The organization said it was ready to provide commercial vessels with maritime services, technical assistance and medical support. Fuel, provisions and permitted repair items were on the list. The offer applied to ships passing through Iranian territorial waters and anchorages, and to those in surrounding waters.
The notice went out over maritime communication networks and VHF, addressed to commanders of commercial ships. It was set to run three times a day for three consecutive days. Anyone needing help was told to call the Vessel Traffic Service center at the nearest Iranian port, or go through a local representative, on VHF channel 16.
Iran’s framing
The organization described the initiative as part of Iran’s sovereign responsibilities. In its words, the aim was to support maritime safety, ships’ seaworthiness and the welfare of seafarers in “one of the world’s most strategically important waterways.”
Press TV, which carried the announcement, tied it to the wider crisis. Roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply normally moves through the strait, it noted, and traffic has effectively been shut down since the US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February. Press TV said Iran closed the strait to its enemies and their allies, then imposed stricter controls after Washington kept up a naval blockade of the country. The restrictions, it added, have rattled global energy markets.
The message does not say how many vessels, if any, have taken Iran up on the offer.
Sources
- Iran maritime authority says ready to provide services to commercial vessels operating in Strait of Hormuz
- Iran Offers Maritime Services to Ships in Strait of Hormuz
