LONDON/ATHENS ¨C Shipping companies are avoiding using a U.S. military-guided transit operation through the Strait of Hormuz after a wave of Iranian attacks on vessels sparked safety concerns, seven maritime security and shipping industry sources said.
For decades ships sailed into and out of the Gulf using a safe set of lanes down the middle of the strait established by the U.N.¡¯s shipping agency in 1968 dubbed the Traffic Separation Scheme.
Since the Iran war ?began on Feb. 28, Iranian forces have mined this area, forcing vessels to use one of two makeshift routes close to either the Iranian or Omani coast.
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