WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - As the Middle East war escalates, the UN maritime agency has expressed deep concern for the 6000 seafarers still trapped in around 500 ships moored in the Persian Gulf behind the Strait Of Hormuz.
'We need to remember that these are innocent people who are trained to do the work, that they are not trained for combat, and the vessels are not prepared to defend themselves against missiles and drones,' IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said.
In an update, the UN International Maritime Organization has said that 'very few ships, if any' are actually sailing across the narrow waterway, following renewed attacks on vessels since hostilities resumed on July 12.
Seafarers play a crucial role in global trade all around the world and without them, 'shipping will not operate', the IMO chief insisted. 'Without them, 90 per cent of goods that are transported by ships will not be able to reach their final destinations and all of us are going to be impacted.'
Dominguez also warned that shipping has been 'taken to the limit' in recent years, citing disruption in the Black Sea caused by Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine and uncertainty in the Red Sea, where Houthi separatists in Yemen have said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers and closed Bab al-Mandab Strait, threatening to effectively bar shipping to and from the Suez Canal.
The Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea's southern gateway, has become a second front, as Houthi forces step up attacks on commercial shipping there.
IMO chief Dominguez condemned the latest attacks late on Thursday as 'indefensible'.
In peace time, the Strait of Hormuz transports an estimated 20 per cent of the world's oil and gas supplies from the Gulf region. Dominguez stressed that ships should not attempt to cross the narrow waterway until the conflict has been resolved.
'Very little progress has been made in any future management of the strait, because the reality is that we need de-escalation in order to continue negotiations,' he said.
Contrary to this, U.S. Central Command claimed that the international waterway remains open for transit despite recent attacks from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Commercial vessels continue to freely navigate the strait with U.S. military support, according to it.
Meanwhile, U.S. forces carried out the 13th straight night of strikes against Iran Thursday.
CENTCOM said in a press release that its forces targeted Iranian military command centers, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites, and maritime capabilities to further diminish the threat Iran poses to civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
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