Iran warns Korean shipping company of legal action over Strait of Hormuz violations
The Persian Gulf Strait Authority, Iran's newly established maritime regulatory body, says it will pursue legal action against vessels linked to Korean shipping firm Sinokor from Nov. 1 over alleged navigation violations in the strait.
A bird flies low over the water as cargo ships lie at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Oct. 24.AP/YONHAP
Iran said it will take legal action against all vessels linked to Korean shipping company Sinokor Merchant Marine starting Nov. 1, accusing the company of the most navigation violations in the Strait of Hormuz over the past three months.
“Vessels belonging to Sinokor shipping company have committed the highest number of passage violations over the past three months,” Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) said in a post on X on Tuesday.
“Appropriate enforcement measures have so far been taken against at least seven of them.”
A screen capture of the post in which Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority warns of taking legal action against Korean shipping company Sinokor Merchant Marine over alleged repeated violations of navigation regulations in the Strait of HormuzSCREEN CAPTURE
The PGSA directed its warning at cargo owners, stakeholders and insurance providers but did not specify what measures would be imposed.
It is not the first time the PGSA has singled out Sinokor. In August, the authority released a list of 45 oil tankers it said had violated navigation regulations in the strait — Sinokor vessels among them — and warned that the ships could face fines, detention or confiscation if they tried to pass through again.
Sinokor is a Korean shipping company primarily engaged in container transportation. Founded in 1989 as a Korea-China joint venture, the company has been led by Chairman Chung Tae-soon since he acquired a stake in 1999.
Even before the war in Iran, Sinokor had amassed a large fleet of oil tankers through purchases and fixed-term charters. The company has reportedly been transporting crude oil at elevated freight rates since restrictions were imposed on passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Sinokor-owned tankers transported approximately 105.6 million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz in September, accounting for roughly 40 percent of all crude oil shipments passing through the waterway that month, according to Bloomberg.
The company's vessels have also recently been damaged in Iranian missile and drone attacks.
A total of 24 vessels were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters over the two weeks from Sept. 28 to Oct. 11, the Financial Times reported on Oct. 13, based on an analysis of data from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations and European security authorities.
Six vessels were struck on Oct. 11 alone, including one belonging to Korea's Sinokor Merchant Marine.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
