IMO urges Hormuz action as 6,000 seafarers remain stranded

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Six months after conflict disrupted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, about 6,000 seafarers aboard as many as 400 ships remain unable to leave the Persian Gulf safely, according to the International Maritime Organization.

The prolonged crisis has exposed crews to attacks, delayed crew changes and interrupted the movement of oil, gas, fertilizers and other commodities. The International Maritime Organization has verified 70 attacks on international shipping since the conflict began on February 28, with 19 seafarers killed as of August 26.

The figures underline the human cost of a security crisis often measured through tanker movements, freight rates and energy prices. Ships can wait at anchor, but crews cannot place their lives on hold indefinitely.

Arsenio Dominguez, the IMO Secretary General, called on governments and the shipping industry to work with the organization and the wider United Nations system on practical measures that could restore freedom of navigation.

“Renewed political will and cooperation is needed to deliver on this commitment,” Dominguez said.

The IMO Council adopted a resolution in July reaffirming the right of transit passage through straits used for international navigation. It said such passage must not be threatened, impeded, denied or suspended and called for a coordinated return to unhindered navigation through Hormuz.

That position establishes the legal and political objective, but ship operators still require measures that can be applied during an actual voyage. These include reliable security information, agreed transit procedures, safe areas for waiting vessels, access to supplies and workable arrangements for crew changes.

Without those safeguards, a declaration supporting freedom of navigation does not automatically make a master, shipowner or insurer comfortable with sending a vessel through a contested waterway.

Commercial movements through Hormuz have resumed to some extent, but daily traffic remains uneven. Preliminary shipping data showed only seven commodity vessels transited the strait on August 27, down from 17 one day earlier and below the preceding ten day average of 15.

The vessels included two medium range tankers, one very large gas carrier, one Ultramax bulk carrier, one intermediate tanker and two chemical tankers. Four ships left the Persian Gulf, while three entered. Vessel counts can change because some ships restrict or disable their tracking signals.

The limited recovery has allowed some vessels and crews to leave the Gulf. It has not provided a predictable route for the hundreds that remain.

Iran and Oman have discussed a temporary commercial shipping corridor using waters under their respective control. However, important conditions and enforcement arrangements remain under negotiation. Iran has also linked broader normalization to political and economic demands, leaving shipping companies without certainty over how long any interim arrangement might remain valid.

For operators, the question is not simply whether a passage is technically open. It is whether a ship can enter, transit and leave without being exposed to attack, detention or conflicting instructions from military and coastal authorities.

Thousands of seafarers have effectively been stranded for months. Prolonged stays aboard ships can create shortages of provisions, delay medical treatment and make it difficult to arrange relief crews willing to enter a high risk area.

Seafarers also face the psychological strain of working near repeated attacks while having limited control over when their vessels may depart. That pressure extends to their families, who may receive little reliable information about when contracts will end or when crew members can return home.

Dominguez said the deterioration in maritime security was not confined to Hormuz. He pointed to threats affecting the Black Sea, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, where merchant crews continue to bear the direct consequences of geopolitical conflict.

Before the conflict, the Strait of Hormuz handled about one fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas movements. Disruption therefore reaches well beyond the Gulf, affecting refinery feedstocks, electricity generation, fertilizer production and industrial supply chains.

Alternative pipelines and export terminals can absorb part of the flow, but they cannot immediately replace the strait’s full capacity. Ships that remain inside the Gulf also represent unavailable transport capacity, tightening vessel supply and complicating schedules elsewhere.

The operational test now rests on whether governments can convert negotiations into transit arrangements that shipowners, crews, charterers and insurers consider dependable enough to use.