UN shipping agency IMO calls for safe corridor to evacuate seafarers from Gulf
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A tanker sailing in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, on March 11.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- IMO agreed to work towards a safe maritime corridor in the Gulf to evacuate commercial ships and protect seafarers during the US-Israeli war on Iran.
- Conflict impacted 20,000 seafarers on 2,000 ships; 17 vessel incidents reported, resulting in at least seven seafarer deaths since February 28.
- IMO urged flag states to avoid unnecessary risks for vessels sailing west of the Strait of Hormuz, but a timeframe and Iranian cooperation remain unclear.
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LONDON - Countries at the UN’s shipping agency agreed to work towards a safe maritime corridor to evacuate commercial ships from the Gulf to protect seafarers during the US-Israeli war on Iran.
In an extraordinary session to discuss the Middle East, the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO’s) governing council agreed to encourage the establishment of a framework to facilitate the safe evacuation of merchant ships from high-risk and affected areas.
The IMO did not provide a timeframe for the establishment of the corridor and it was not clear whether Iran would cooperate.
The conflict has impacted around 20,000 seafarers on nearly 2,000 ships west of the Strait of Hormuz, IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez said.
Shipping in the Gulf and along the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which carries around a fifth of the world’s oil, has come to a near-standstill since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran on Feb 28, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have warned that any ship passing through the waterway will be targeted.
Several ships have come under attack in the Gulf since the beginning of the conflict, with the IMO reporting 17 vessel incidents that resulted in at least seven seafarer deaths.
Mr Dominguez called on flag states to demand vessels stationed east of the strait avoid taking the “unnecessary risk” of sailing west of the strait.
“We must not expose seafarers to a higher risk than they already face right now,” he said. REUTERS
