IMO Seeks Practical Solutions to Restore Freedom of Navigation in the Strait of Hormuz
Key Takeaways
- •IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez says the Strait of Hormuz situation remains unresolved six months after the Middle East conflict began.
- •Up to 400 ships carrying roughly 6,000 seafarers have been unable to safely exit the Persian Gulf since the conflict started.
- •The IMO has verified at least 70 attacks on international shipping in the region, resulting in 19 seafarer deaths.
- •The IMO Council adopted a July resolution reaffirming the right of transit passage through international straits and calling for a coordinated return to unhindered navigation.
- •The Strait of Hormuz handles about a fifth of globally traded oil plus significant LNG volumes, making disruptions consequential beyond the region.
The head of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is calling for practical solutions to restore freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, six months after the conflict in the Middle East began.
"Six months since the conflict in the Middle East began, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz is unresolved," IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said in an emailed statement on Friday.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important chokepoints for seaborne trade, with roughly a fifth of globally traded oil and significant volumes of liquefied natural gas passing through it, making disruptions there consequential far beyond the region's shipping lanes.
According to Dominguez, up to 400 ships carrying around 6,000 seafarers have been unable to safely leave the Persian Gulf since the conflict began, although some vessels and their crews have managed to depart.
The IMO has verified at least 70 attacks on international shipping in the region, with 19 seafarers killed. The impacts of the crisis, Dominguez noted, are grave both in the short and long term.
"Thousands of seafarers in the region continue to live and work under conditions of heightened risk and uncertainty," Dominguez said.
In July, the IMO Council adopted a resolution reaffirming the right of transit passage through international straits and called for a coordinated return to unhindered navigation through Hormuz. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, under which the IMO operates its mandate for shipping safety and security, codifies transit passage rights through international straits such as Hormuz.
"Renewed political will and cooperation is needed to deliver on this commitment," Dominguez said.
He urged member states and the shipping industry to work with the IMO and the wider United Nations system to restore freedom of navigation through the Strait. Whether that cooperation materializes, and whether the backlog of vessels and crews in the Persian Gulf clears, will be key markers to watch in the months ahead.
Source: Ship & Bunker
