Arsenio Dominguez is the Secretary-General of the IMO. Image Credit: IMO

The IMO has temporarily paused its plan to evacuate ships and seafarers stranded and unable to leave the Strait of Hormuz after a vessel was attacked off Oman on Thursday.

The attacked vessel was not transiting under the organisation's evacuation framework, Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the IMO, said in a statement on Thursday.

The attack came just after the Iranian Navy warned on Thursday that ships seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz must use only the route permitted by Iran and cautioned against using any alternative route.

Earlier this week, Oman, in coordination with the IMO, announced a temporary shipping corridor to facilitate the movement of ships through the region.

"Following the launch of the IMO’s evacuation plan, through which several vessels have already been successfully evacuated, I have decided to temporarily pause its implementation in order to reconfirm that the necessary safety guarantees continue to be in place for the ships on our evacuation list and all those in the region,” Dominguez said.

"Therefore, to ensure a coordinated approach and navigational safety, the evacuation plan will be paused until further clarity is obtained."

The evacuation plan announced by the IMO on Tuesday aimed to evacuate more than 11,000 seafarers stranded in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

According to AIS tracking data on Friday morning, only a few vessels were seen transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with some sailing closer to the Iranian coast.

The latest attack comes as the US and Iran continue negotiations under a 60-day framework to reach a final agreement. One of the key sticking points remains demands that ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz pay transit fees to Iran and use designated routes, a position opposed by the US.

The IMO had called off a press briefing scheduled on Thursday after the incident was reported.