As the war in the Middle East has come to a rest following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran, the United Nations’ International Maritime Organisation (IMO) on Tuesday (23rd June) announced that it will conduct an operation to evacuate over 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf after the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez issued a statement expressing satisfaction over the peace agreement and paying tribute to the fourteen seafarers who lost their lives during the war. “After months of hardship and distress for thousands of innocent seafarers, and negative impact for the whole world, I welcome with deep satisfaction the peace agreement concluded between the United States and Iran, marking a decisive step towards restoring maritime security and bringing to an end the unacceptable attacks against civilian shipping,” the statement read.
“We will begin the implementation of the evacuation plan for over 11,000 seafarers still stranded in the region. This large-scale operation will be carried out in close cooperation with Iran, Oman, all other coastal States in the region, the United States and the maritime industry,” it added. Dominguez said that the IMO has secured the necessary safety guarantees and has “thoroughly verified the conditions for safe navigation to support these operations”. The disruptions in the global oil route caused by the war affected shipments, drove up oil prices, and left thousands of sailors stranded in the Gulf region.
An advisory issued by Oman’s defence ministry stated that the evacuation plan, which has been under discussion for months, will be conducted in a phased manner. The ministry said that the Traffic Separation Scheme was “not safe for use at this time” and two temporary routes to the north and south of the scheme could be used for evacuation.
“Vessels will be contacted individually and advised of their allocated transit day by the parties coordinated by IMO,” the ministry’s advisory said. The Traffic Separation Scheme was adopted by the IMO in 1968, which established routing lanes through Iranian and Omani waters in the strait.
