Standing up for freedom of navigation sends right message: UN maritime chief

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SINGAPORE – Countries standing up for freedom of navigation in international waterways like the Strait of Hormuz are sending “the right message”, said the head of the UN agency regulating global shipping, as a continued impasse between Iran and the US over the vital maritime chokepoint threatens to inflict more pain on the global economy.

Speaking to local media on April 20, International Maritime Organization (IMO) secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez also warned of the repercussions of shipping being used increasingly as collateral in geopolitical conflicts.

Hopes that a two-week ceasefire between Washington and Tehran would bring some reprieve to the shipping industry were dashed after a brief and confused reopening over the April 18 weekend ended with the US maintaining its blockade of Iran’s ports and seizing an Iranian cargo ship.

Commercial traffic through Hormuz was back to a virtual standstill on April 20 as uncertainty now looms over whether the US-Iran truce, due to expire on April 22, will hold. Plans for a second round of negotiations in Pakistan also hang in the balance.

Given the current situation, the effects from the disruption of fertiliser and natural gas supplies could extend into 2027 – and that is only if hostilities end so that work to restore global trade flows can begin, Mr Dominguez said after arriving in Singapore to attend the Singapore Maritime Week.

“The reality is that we need the global community to rally behind a de-escalation of the conflict to allow us to trade as usual,” he said, noting that the IMO has been in contact with Iran and neighbouring countries such as Oman to discuss how free trade through the Strait of Hormuz can resume safely after the war ends.

“It’s not over yet but the sooner it comes to an end, the sooner we can all start tackling the next round of challenges,” he added.

“The longer this goes on, the more negative impacts we will see on the global economy.”

Still, he said he was hopeful that the situation would improve. “I still see positives in the fact that the parties engaged in the conflict are talking to each other,” he said.

Mr Dominguez, who is from Panama, also rejected the introduction of tolls or any payment mechanism in waterways used for international navigation.

“I want to highlight the position of the Government of Singapore, which was very loud and clear that it was not going to negotiate on those terms,” he said.

Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said in early April that Singapore will not negotiate for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, as doing so would undermine the fundamental principles of international law.

In the meantime, Mr Dominguez said the IMO has drawn up evacuation plans for the roughly 20,000 seafarers stranded on board the more than 1,600 vessels still stuck in the Persian Gulf.

The organisation has also worked out arrangements with a group of countries to ensure the Strait of Hormuz is free of mines and other hazards when shipping eventually resumes.

The IMO chief did not specify which countries had made these commitments, pointing only to a summit of 51 nations led by France and the United Kingdom that met on April 17 to discuss the crisis in the Gulf.

So far, 22 countries have publicly signed on to a “defensive” multinational mission to keep the waterway open, should peace be achieved.

However, he emphasised that these plans can be carried out only when it is safe to do so.

“We cannot put the seafarers at risk,” he said, noting that some of the vessels that were able to sail through the strait over the brief weekend window had reported near misses with military drones and missile fire.

Asked whether shipowners and operators may need added security arrangements, such as armed escorts or patrols, to ensure safe passage through the strait when the war ends, Mr Dominguez said this might be needed in the initial stages of reopening the waterway to provide a sense of security and ensure that insurance can be provided at a reasonable rate, so the impact on freight costs is limited.

But this is not a sustainable solution in the long term, he added. “We have to remember that we are not military assets and seafarers are not trained for combat.”

He said the IMO is also open to other solutions, such as establishing additional shipping corridors in the Strait of Hormuz in the future. But this must be done in accordance with international law and IMO rules.

“We need cooperation between Iran and Oman, not unilateral decisions,” he added. Oman also borders the strait and controls some of its shipping lanes.

Asked about the precedent that the crisis in Hormuz may set for other maritime chokepoints like the straits of Malacca and Singapore, Mr Dominguez held up a cooperative mechanism between the Republic, Malaysia and Indonesia as a success story that can be learnt from.

Formed in 2007, the mechanism is the key platform for the three countries and the wider maritime community to hold dialogue on navigational safety and marine environment protection in the straits of Malacca and Singapore.

“It improves the operations of shipping and we can replicate it in other areas,” said Mr Dominguez.

Reflecting on the impact of the closure of Hormuz, he said the current crisis underscored the importance of keeping shipping free and safe.

“If we start transferring the cargoes that come from the Gulf region right now to other means of transportation, they will only be able to ship between 5 and 10 per cent of what shipping is transporting on a daily basis,” he said.

“We can find new ways of operating, we can find new routes. But we’re not going to be able to supply the demands of the global economy.”