Following two distinct assaults on vessels during the final week of June 2026, international shipping organizations and maritime employers have reclassified the Strait of Hormuz as a 'conflict zone', leading to a significant decline in commercial shipping activity in the region. A joint announcement from the International Transport Workers' Federation and the Joint Negotiating Group on July 2 confirmed this classification, which grants merchant seafarers entitlement to hazard compensation and permits companies to annul standard shipping agreements. On June 27, Iranian forces targeted commercial ships navigating the strait, resulting in US CENTCOM executing retaliatory strikes against Iranian radar installations and military facilities on Qeshm Island. Additionally, on June 25, the container vessel Ever Lovely was attacked to the southeast of Dahit, Oman. These renewed hostilities followed Iran's closure of the strait on June 20, claiming Israeli actions in Lebanon breached the ceasefire terms.
