West Asia war: Qatar suspends maritime navigation and marine activities amid heightened security concerns

Qatars Ministry of Transport on Sunday announced a temporary suspension of maritime navigation and all marine activities as a precautionary measure to safeguard public safetyIn a statement the ministry advised owners and users of all maritime vessels including leisure boats fishing boats jet skis and other watercraft to temporarily suspend sailing and all marine activities until further noticeThe ministry said the measure does not apply to vessels operating under international maritime conventions Xinhua news agency reportedIt added that the precautionary measure was taken in coordination with the relevant security authorities urging the public to comply with the directive and obtain updates only through official channelsQatars Foreign Ministry in a statement has strongly condemned renewed Iranian attacks targeting its territory and several neighbouring countries describing them as a flagrant violation of sovereignty territorial integrity and international lawMeanwhile the USled Joint Maritime Information Centre said on Sunday that despite Iran announcing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz the southern route along the Omani coast remains available and has been expanded to accommodate twoway trafficThe advisory released by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations cited additional information from the US Naval Forces Central Command NAVCENT which said the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway and is not subject to coercion or control by any single nationDespite Irans claims that the Strait is closed US forces are prepared to maintain freedom of navigation and safeguard lawful commerce NAVCENT said adding that the southern route through the Strait remains openAccording to the advisory the maritime security threat level in the Strait of Hormuz remains severe It also warned mariners to remain aware of a mine danger area within the traditional Traffic Separation Scheme TSSFollowing the outbreak of the USIsraelIran conflict the traditional TSS in the Strait of Hormuz became unsuitable for navigation due to the mine threatFollowing the signing of an MoU between the United States and Iran two alternative transit routes effectively emerged a northern route controlled by Iran and a southern route along the Omani coast where US forces provide navigation support and coordinationQatars Ministry of Transport on Sunday announced a temporary suspension of maritime navigation and all marine activities as a precautionary measure to safeguard public safetyIn a statement the ministry advised owners and users of all maritime vessels including leisure boats fishing boats jet skis and other watercraft to temporarily suspend sailing and all marine activities until further noticeThe ministry said the measure does not apply to vessels operating under international maritime conventions Xinhua news agency reportedIt added that the precautionary measure was taken in coordination with the relevant security authorities urging the public to comply with the directive and obtain updates only through official channelsQatars Foreign Ministry in a statement has strongly condemned renewed Iranian attacks targeting its territory and several neighbouring countries describing them as a flagrant violation of sovereignty territorial integrity and international lawMeanwhile the USled Joint Maritime Information Centre said on Sunday that despite Iran announcing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz the southern route along the Omani coast remains available and has been expanded to accommodate twoway trafficThe advisory released by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations cited additional information from the US Naval Forces Central Command NAVCENT which said the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway and is not subject to coercion or control by any single nationDespite Irans claims that the Strait is closed US forces are prepared to maintain freedom of navigation and safeguard lawful commerce NAVCENT said adding that the southern route through the Strait remains openAccording to the advisory the maritime security threat level in the Strait of Hormuz remains severe It also warned mariners to remain aware of a mine danger area within the traditional Traffic Separation Scheme TSSFollowing the outbreak of the USIsraelIran conflict the traditional TSS in the Strait of Hormuz became unsuitable for navigation due to the mine threatFollowing the signing of an MoU between the United States and Iran two alternative transit routes effectively emerged a northern route controlled by Iran and a southern route along the Omani coast where US forces provide navigation support and coordinationThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever