Iran has tightened its restrictions on maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, adding 114 vessels to its non-compliance list on November 2. The PGSA has almost doubled the number of ships on its target list with the latest update, taking the blacklist to 240 vessels.

The move also signals a wider strategy for South Korean shipowner Sinokor. “All ships in the company’s fleet will be treated in the same way as the ships already on its non-compliance list,” the PGSA told Seatrade Maritime News when commenting.

At the end of October, the authority had warned that Sinokor's vessels could face legal action after what it termed a high number of violations of its regulations in the Strait of Hormuz. It has now made it clear that the entire fleet will face measures similar to those applied in other non-compliance list (NCL) cases.

Maritime restrictions growing at record pace

The latest additions come after a smaller update over the weekend, when the PGSA added one more vessel to its blacklist, the VLCC Alraya.

But the authority added another 114 entries on November 2, the biggest expansion of the register since its creation in August.

This update includes at least 29 vessels tied to Sinokor, 10 tied to Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC), seven tied to Saudi shipping operator Bahri and six tied to the United Arab Emirates' ADNOC.

The total number of Sinokor-connected vessels on the blacklist is now at least 46. That’s about half the very large crude carrier (VLCC) fleet of the South Korean company and highlights the scale of the measures affecting the operator.

Past attacks add another layer of concern

The expansion comes as threats to maritime security continue across the Middle East.

Based on the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) register of confirmed incidents in the region, at least nine vessels from the most recent additions to the PGSA list have been attacked since the start of the regional conflict.

Since March, these ships have been involved in 10 recorded attacks. In one notable case KOTC’s Al Dasma was hit twice, on 7 September and 20 October.

The remaining 105 vessels appear not to be in the IMO’s confirmed incident register. But their absence does not mean they have avoided attacks . In recent months, reporting and independent verification of incidents involving commercial vessels in the region have become more difficult, leaving open the possibility that some incidents may not be reported or confirmed.

The share of newly blacklisted vessels connected to confirmed attacks also varies considerably from past updates. In the 15 October update, 90% of vessels were attacked ships, but attacked ships make up 7.8% of recent additions.

Another incident off the coast of Oman

Maritime security concerns were heightened further on 2 November when the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) issued a delayed report of an incident that occurred on 1 November.

A vessel was damaged on its starboard side after being struck by an unidentified projectile, according to the organization. It occurred approximately nine nautical miles northeast of Lima, Oman.

That comes on top of two other attacks reported over the weekend involving a tanker and an offshore tug.

These developments underline the difficult operating environment for commercial shipping companies in the waters around the Strait of Hormuz, where security incidents and regulatory restrictions are increasingly affecting maritime operations.

Full PGSA non-compliance list as of 2 November

The Persian Gulf Strait Authority's register now contains 240 vessels. The following table reproduces the complete list published as of 2 November, including each ship's International Maritime Organization (IMO) identification number.

No.

Vessel Name

IMO Number

1

KIKU

9329796

2

MUBARAZ

9074626

3

MINOAN PIONEER

9471630

4

VADIN

9324100

5

HAFEET

9928009

6

AL REKAYYAT

9397339

7

WEDYAN

9524970

8

CYPRUS PROSPERITY

9595216

9

AL RAWDAH

9734513

10

RASHEEDA

9443413

11

LEBRETHAH

9976927

12

GFS GALAXY

9401271

13

AL BAHYAH

9937799

14

MOMBASA B

9739501

15

STOLT MAGNESIUM

9739317

16

AL WATAN

9615030

17

NAVIG8 MESSI

9482859

18

SINGAPORE PROSPERITY

9419967

19

AL AREESH

9325697

20

GASLOG SHANGHAI

9600528

21

LUBNA

9489065

22

HAZI 1

7802598

23

RYUJIN

8206818

24

ANNA BARBARA

9407500

25

SUNBIRD ARROW

9323821

26

MINOAN DIGNITY

9294484

27

MARIA

9917828

28

KAVOMALEAS

1042823

29

MARDAN

9360453

30

SWEDEN PROSPERITY

9588392

31

JARNAIN

9823546

32

KAIFAN

9656046

33

NISSOS KEA

9920758

34

ROTTERDAM ENERGY

9508859

35

AL HAMRA

9074640

36

UMM AL ASHTAN

9074652

37

MARIGOLD LNG

9230062

38

BANASTAR

9228045

39

NAVARA

9241798

40

ARGOS EXPLORER

9419618

41

ASHLEY

9258466

42

MRAWEH

9074638

43

AL LULU

9583627

44

ABU DHABI-III

9489027

45

TARIF

9828390

46

DELMA

9719408

47

ZIXUAN

9317298

48

IXORA

9940459

49

OLYMPIOS GAS

1069637

50

ASPHALT ALLIANCE

9287883

51

YAQUT

9917878

52

ZAYNAH

9854703

53

AJWAD

9830795

54

GAS MARAKUA

9240421

55

EL GAIA

9325336

56

BURGAN

9656022

57

ALFONSO

9256298

58

GAS WARICH

9364382

59

RIESCO

9251822

60

SILVER SHINE

9421415

61

METRO VENETIAN

1013391

62

AL SALAM II

9328168

63

SIDR

9854715

64

MALAYSIA PROSPERITY

9395305

65

PSERIMOS

1033810

66

PORTUGAL PROSPERITY

9385843

67

ON PRIDE

9945318

68

ON PEACE

9893204

69

ON PHOENIX

9893228

70

SINBAD

9413688

71

RIYAN STAR

9156761

72

AL DAAYEN

9325702

73

OTTOMAN COURTESY

9788708

74

AL RIQQA

9534808

75

AL KOUT

9653434

76

AL SHUMOUKH

9726126

77

ALGERIA PROSPERITY

9534042

78

ANNA-META

9514406

79

OCEAN LOYALTY

9375238

80

MINOAN GLORY

9364447

81

MERSIN PROSPERITY

9327554

82

AL RUWAIS

9828405

83

KAZIMAH III

9329693

84

EVER VICT

9266774

85

AL SALAM

9923085

86

KITION M

9321160

87

GAS AL AHMADIAH

9849629

88

ROMANIA PROSPERITY

9315161

89

AL YAMAMAH

9856696

90

GAS AL NEGEH

9329722

91

NISSOS KYTHNOS

9853852

92

BAHRA

9595008

93

AL SOOR II

9329784

94

NISSOS DESPOTIKO

9845697

95

GAS UMM AL ROWAISAT

9849631

96

UMM AL AISH

9534781

97

SAMOA PROSPERITY

9294575

98

DAS

9854507

99

NISSOS KEROS

9856074

100

QASBA

9853589

101

PETRO DOLPHIN

1072294

102

ANGOLA PROSPERITY

9896414

103

SENEGAL PROSPERITY

9532757

104

OCEAN MOLICA

9139270

105

VALTHERA

9296389

106

ST 1

9256999

107

MARAN GAS MYSTRAS

9658238

108

GHANA PROSPERITY

9732541

109

CAMEROON PROSPERITY

9315159

110

GAS VELA

9969845

111

SINGAPORE ENERGY

9534846

112

LIPSI

1025033

113

UHUD

9254939

114

AL FUNTAS

9653408

115

CAPE DAO

9219020

116

AL MARYAH

9393682

117

LR STEPHANIE

9282625

118

GFS GISELLE

9704661

119

SAFEEN PRESTIGE

9593517

120

NV SUNSHINE

9350288

121

GFS PRIDE

9349045

122

GEM NO.2

9735373

123

SEA SOAR

9177569

124

FINLAND PROSPERITY

9376751

125

AFRICAN LOON

9748071

126

ALRAYA

9320831

127

ACERS

9301902

128

AL ADAILIAH

9856684

129

AL DASMA

9653446

130

AL DERWAZAH

9653410

131

AL DHANNAH

9783734

132

AL FAYA

9602629

133

AL GHASHAMIYA

9397286

134

AL KHTAM

9823534

135

AL MAQAM

9732577

136

AL RAYYAN

9086734

137

AL YAHR

9470040

138

AL YARMOUK

9653422

139

ANGOLA B

9623685

140

ARGENTINA B

9389021

141

ASTRID

9246475

142

BAHAMAS PROSPERITY

9327114

143

BAHRAIN PROSPERITY

9596947

144

BARBADOS PROSPERITY

9377418

145

BASRAH ENERGY

9391775

146

BNEIDER

9595010

147

BRAVE OCEAN

9359363

148

BRUNEI PROSPERITY

9389899

149

BULGARIA PROSPERITY

9387566

150

CAPETAN ANDREAS

9284374

151

CE HAMILTON

9411238

152

CHILE PROSPERITY

9826847

153

CYH QUANZHOU

9743722

154

CYH YONGCHUN

9689926

155

DAR SALWA

9534779

156

DIYYINAH I

9487251

157

EGYPT PROSPERITY

9534004

158

ELINA II

9508706

159

ELLIE

9418614

160

EMERALD SHINE

9384227

161

ETERNAL STARS

9290842

162

FELICITY

9267118

163

FIJI PROSPERITY

9740330

164

FUJAIRAH ENERGY

9723071

165

GAS AL KUWAIT II

9329710

166

GAS AL MUBARAKIAH

9849617

167

GAS AQUA

9687514

168

GAS GARUDA

9266982

169

GAS POLARIS

9230048

170

GREECE PROSPERITY

9723112

171

GRIT

9243150

172

GUYANA PROSPERITY

9728693

173

HELGA

9176993

174

HESTIA

9310654

175

IMOLA

1014876

176

IMPERIAL

9400849

177

INDONESIA ENERGY

9359466

178

INDONESIA PROSPERITY

9595228

179

JAMAICA PROSPERITY

9529956

180

JIAFA

9282869

181

KAI RUI

9229623

182

KIANA

9161481

183

KIARA M

9285823

184

KUWAIT PROSPERITY

9722936

185

LEEM

9284245

186

LIWA V

9489039

187

LOUIZA

9281554

188

LOYALTY

9182306

189

LUCIA A

9228655

190

LUCIE B

9587166

191

LUCKYRIDE

9358400

192

LUMINA POLARIS

9264908

193

MEZAIRA’A

9487275

194

MONACO PROSPERITY

9597240

195

MONARCH

9370537

196

MONJASA SHAKER

9510591

197

MOZAMBIQUE B

9709075

198

MUTRIBA

9656058

199

MYANMAR PROSPERITY

9315070

200

NAUTILUS

1030052

201

NAVIG8 PRECISION

9831294

202

NAVIG8 WOLF

9935301

203

NAVIS

9237395

204

NCC FAJR

9595644

205

NISSOS RHENIA

9845685

206

NOBLE

9389253

207

PANAMA PROSPERITY

9514561

208

PEARL SHINE

9386952

209

PERU PROSPERITY

9418066

210

PHILIPPINES PROSPERITY

9377420

211

PHOTINI

9753363

212

PIONEER

1024950

213

PROMISE

1038896

214

RAIN CUBIC

9384203

215

RAWAQ

9853591

216

RENAD

9310161

217

SANAM

9858486

218

SC PRESTIGE

9331672

219

SEA V

9332535

220

SEABUS

9377781

221

SERENO

9437658

222

SIFSAFAH

9856713

223

SOGL

9208227

224

SONANGOL NAMIBE

9325049

225

SPAIN B

9722924

226

ST3

9220964

227

SUPREME

9296418

228

SURINAME PROSPERITY

9376749

229

SUVARI REIS

9084267

230

SWEIHAN

9722223

231

TANZANIA PROSPERITY

9414931

232

THAILAND PROSPERITY

9575955

233

TITANIUM SHINE

9519482

234

TOGO PROSPERITY

9411032

235

TORKEL

9340635

236

TREND

9477177

237

TUNISIA PROSPERITY

9568809

238

UQAB

9830824

239

VAUGHAN

9256901

240

VELOS AMBER

9571038