Tehran: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that a new route for ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is "unacceptable and entirely dangerous", adding that vessels transiting outside the designated routes would face consequences.
"The movement of vessels outside these routes is highly dangerous and prohibited. Ships are warned to strictly refrain from any transit outside the designated routes. Coordination with the IRGC Navy for passage through the Strait of Hormuz via Channel 16 is mandatory, and violators will be dealt with," the IRGC declared.
Ships have begun sailing through the Strait of Hormuz under a new scheme by the United Nations' shipping agency to evacuate vessels trapped there by the conflict, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The initiative, which has taken months to finalise, will enable hundreds of ships carrying some 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, the International Maritime Organisation said on Tuesday (June 23).