IMO pledges to try to get the seafarers out of Hormuz
- Secretary-general to work with Gulf states, shipping industry to evacuate stranded ships
- IMO agrees non-binding declaration condemning attacks on merchant vessels
- Countries will look to prioritise help for stranded ships, but whatever they do will be voluntary
The IMO will start work on a framework for getting 20,000 seafarers out of the Gulf warzone amid frustration the UN agency lacks the power to do more to reopen trade
THE International Maritime Organization (IMO) cannot resolve the Gulf war, but it will try to at least get the seafarers out.
Countries agreed to work on a framework for a safe shipping corridor to aid around 2,000 ships and 20,000 seafarers still trapped in the Middle East Gulf west of the Strait of Hormuz.
States agreed on an IMO declaration condemning attacks on merchant vessels, encouraging states to de-escalate conflict and commit to supply ships and change crews.
But two days of emergency talks in London have not produced much detail as to what such a framework would look like.
IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez implored governments to do all they could.
“We all need to go beyond the statements of the last two days,” he said.
“If brought face-to-face with one of those seafarers, what would you say you did to help?”
Dominguez told reporters the IMO would look at the different ships in the region, how long they had been there and when they were last supplied to prioritise help.
He said disruptions to flights made it hard to change crews on the ships in the Gulf. Replacement crews, he added, would be understandably reluctant to start working in the war zone.
The root causes of the US-Iran war were beyond the IMO’s remit of control, but it had a responsibility to work for the safety of shipping and freedom of navigation, he added.
Dominguez said naval escorts would not guarantee safety for merchant ships, nor were they a sustainable solution, because ships could still be targeted.
“We need actually to de-escalate,” he said. “We need the conflict to come to an end, for shipping not to be used as collateral damage in this situation.”
The IMO would look first to the Gulf countries and the nations most involved, as well as the shipping industry, to find the most practical ways to help the ships and crews.
Dominguez’ role — which requires him to avoid siding with any member state on matters of politics — was to “bring the parties to the table and find the solutions that would allow shipping there to continue to operate”.
Iran distanced itself from the IMO declaration on Thursday, saying it ignored the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran which were the root cause of the crisis.
The International Chamber of Shipping said: “We support calls for member states to ensure the continuous provision of essential supplies to ships currently unable to leave the region, to ensure their safe operation and preserve the welfare of those on board.”
