Stranded seafarers remain trapped as Hormuz shipping stalls
In brief Hormuz shipping remains almost completely halted. 6,000 seafarers remain stranded aboard 500 ships. Tolls for safe passage illegal international law. Higher energy prices
In brief Hormuz shipping remains almost completely halted. 6,000 seafarers remain stranded aboard 500 ships. Tolls for safe passage illegal international law. Higher energy prices lift global trade values. In an update, the UN International Maritime Organization – IMO – has told UN News that “very few ships, if any” are actually sailing across the narrow waterway, following renewed attacks on vessels since hostilities resumed on 12-13 July. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez expressed deep concern for the 6,000 seafarers still trapped on around 500 ships moored in the Persian Gulf behind the strait. “We need to remember that these are innocent people who are trained to do the work, that they are not trained for combat, and the vessels are not prepared to defend themselves against missiles and drones,” he said. Seafarers play a crucial role in global trade all around the world and without them, “shipping will not operate”, the IMO chief insisted. “Without them, 90 per cent of goods that are transported by ships will not be able to reach their final destinations and all of us are going to be impacted.” Dominguez also warned that shipping has been “taken to the limit” in recent years, citing disruption in the Black Sea caused by Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine and uncertainty in the Red Sea, where Houthi separatists in Yemen have said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers and closed Bab al-Mandab Strait, effectively barring shipping to and from the Suez Canal. “We've been taken to the limit,” he insisted. “Because one thing that we cannot replace is those essential cargoes and essential goods that either come from the regions where the conflicts are taking place or that are required for the communities in the countries that are at war.” Global energy lifeline In peace time, the Strait of Hormuz transports an estimated 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas supplies from the Gulf region.
IMO’s Mr. Dominguez stressed that shipping should not attempt to cross the narrow waterway until the conflict has been resolved. “Very little progress has been made in any future management of the strait, because the reality is that we need de-escalation in order to continue negotiations,” he said. Seafarers’ safety is top priority The UN agency’s first priority remains securing the evacuation of all seafarers trapped in the strait since the war first erupted on 28 February, when Israel and the US began bombing Iran. Once all mariners are safe, “we need to start getting the guarantees that the region is de-mined, that the strait is safe for ships to transit, and then step by step, start resuming the operations and make sure that we go back to the levels of around 135 vessels in transit per day. That’s how the Strait was operating,” Mr. Dominguez stressed. “Once we have those guarantees, we of course then will continue that engagement in looking into what will be the future management of the Strait of Hormuz, all in accordance with international law,” he added. Talks ongoing Asked about the likelihood of securing such guarantees, the IMO Secretary-General noted that some “steps” had been taken by both parties who are “talking after many years of not engaging”. In addition, the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Iran and the US last month to end the war remains in place and “serves as the basis for future negotiations [and] further clarifications” regarding the 14-point plan, Mr. Dominguez continued. Without naming them, the IMO chief also said that many other countries were currently engaged in bilateral negotiations, alongside the UN’s wider efforts to end the war.
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