The United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) has warned of the increasing risks and acute psychological pressures facing thousands of seafarers stranded in the Arabian Gulf region, in conjunction with the escalation of military escalation in one of the most important international shipping channels.
The organization confirmed in a statement that about 6,000 seafarers are still stuck on their commercial ships, unable to leave safely as a result of the renewed direct attacks with mines and weapons in the Strait of Hormuz, which has put innocent naval crews in grave danger that threatens their physical and moral safety.
Suspension of Evacuation
The Secretary-General of the organization, Arsenio Dominguez, explained during a meeting of the organization in the British capital, London, that the organization was officially forced to suspend the evacuation operations of seafarers that it had launched following the interim memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran on June 17, due to the impossibility of ensuring the safety of ships and their crews in light of the new wave of escalation.
Dominguez pointed out that before the suspension of the evacuation plan, it succeeded in securing the exit of 136 ships carrying about 2,900 sailors through two alternative routes along the coasts of Iran and Oman after the usual corridor was damaged, but the rest of the crews face an unknown fate after at least three commercial ships were subjected to missile attacks over the past two days while crossing the southern corridor of the strait.
The confrontation explodes
These successive developments on the ground come after US President Donald Trump officially announced the end of the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, as a result of renewed mutual strikes following the Iranian army's targeting of commercial ships and its assertion of full control of the waterway and the imposition of forced transit tolls on it.
The Strait of Hormuz is the main flashpoint in the regional dispute, which erupted in late February following large-scale U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting deep inside Iran, followed by Iranian retaliatory attacks on several countries in the Gulf region, prompting the United States to launch large-scale raids to deter current threats.
In an effort to secure the basic foundations of an open global economy and protect supply chains from collapse, the IMO has seen a draft resolution co-sponsored by the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
The project aims to affirm freedom of international navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and protect vital sea lanes by respecting the rights of commercial vessels and ensuring the peaceful flow of global trade, warning that the continued threat of maritime crews will raise shipping and transportation costs for businesses and consumers, while praising the model of restraint shown by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore to maintain the status quo and the security of the corridors in the Strait of Malacca.
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