The Korean national chemical carrier’MT-Korea Chemi’ was captured by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Graphic = Reporter Song Jeong-geun
The Hormuz Strait, in which the Korean national chemical carrier’Korea Chemie’ was captured by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) on the 4th (local time) is a key gateway connecting the Gulf (Persian Gulf of Iran) and the Indian Ocean. Inside the strait that divides the Arabian Peninsula and Iran, there are ports of major oil producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain. It is also a strategic point that accounts for a third of the world’s maritime crude oil transport. It is considered one of the’guns’ in the Middle East due to frequent disputes.
The width of the narrowest part of the Strait of Hormuz is 54km. In addition, the depth of the water is not so deep that the width of which large ships can pass is only 10 km. The problem is that this is in Iranian waters. This is why Iran threatened to block the strait whenever military tensions increased with the United States. In addition, if the entire strait is not blocked, but only the checks and search for key waterways are strengthened, the strait is blocked, and even the evaluation of Iran’s’flower viewing plaque’ comes out. For example, if a vessel passing through the sea is charged with carrying weapons and drugs, and a high-intensity check is carried out, it causes a’bottleneck’ and disrupts the transportation of crude oil.
In fact, Iran did not stop at warning. There is a precedent of seizing foreign ships several times. Most recently, in August of last year, the Iranian navy captured a tanker with an African Liberian flag near the Strait of Hormuz and released it in five hours. In June 2019, when British Gibraltar authorities detained Iranian oil tankers, Iranian troops also seized British tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
There have also been times inflicting physical harm to ships in each country. In June 2018, in the waters of the Oman Sea near the Strait of Hormuz, the Norwegian ship’s front line’s Front Altair (shipped to Marshall Islands) and the Japanese ship’s leased Kokuka Kerazers (shipped to Panama) were hit. Even in May of that year, four oil tankers were attacked near the Sea of Oman. The Iranian government vehemently denied the alleged involvement, but the United States turned the blame to Iran’s elite revolutionary guard.
The tension in the Gulf waters surrounding the Strait of Hormuz still remains. After the assassination of nuclear scientist Mosen Parkrizade, who led the Iranian nuclear weapons program in November last year, Iran has pointed to the US and Israel behind the scenes. It was a warning that he could walk and lock the Strait of Hormuz at any time. The United States then dispatched a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to the Middle East to prepare for Iran’s retaliatory military action, and last month launched two strategic bombers, B-52s, into the Gulf waters. In addition, it is predicted that the international situation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz is in an unpredictable situation as it marks the 1st anniversary of the former IRGC Kuds commander, Gasem Soleymani, who died in the U.S. drone attack last year.
Jinwook Kim reporter [email protected]
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