The U.N. International Maritime Organization (IMO) has begun an evacuation plan to allow hundreds of vessels carrying about 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf to transit the Strait of Hormuz, following a ceasefire deal between Iran and the United States.
An IMO spokesperson said, “We have now started contacting the ships to start the evacuation,” but gave no specific timeframe. The agency said it has obtained required safety guarantees and verified conditions for safe navigation. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the 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.”
Oman’s defence ministry said the evacuation will be phased. Citing an elevated risk of collision, it warned a gradual, controlled withdrawal of vessel traffic is required. The ministry said the long-established Traffic Separation Scheme, adopted by the IMO in 1968 to route ships through Iranian and Omani waters, is “not safe for use at this time.” Instead, two temporary routes north and south of the normal lanes will be used for the evacuation.
Vessels will be contacted individually and assigned specific transit days by authorities coordinated by the IMO. The agency and coastal states say they will carry out the large-scale operation in coordination with the U.S. and the maritime industry. Floating mines and other explosive hazards remain among the principal risks in the waters around Hormuz.