The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has evacuated approximately 115 vessels and 2,500 seafarers from the Strait of Hormuz since Tuesday, according to IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez. The announcement came on Friday, a day after the IMO suspended its broader evacuation effort targeting around 600 ships and 11,000 sailors, following an attack on a vessel in the Gulf of Oman.
Evacuation Numbers and Routes
Dominguez stated during an online press conference that "115 (vessels) have evacuated in the last three and a half days, representing around 2,500 seafarers that have now safely left the Strait of Hormuz" since the UN's safe-passage program began Tuesday. The evacuation is being conducted via two temporary routes: one near the Omani coast and another near the Iranian coast. These routes deviate from the traditional Traffic Separation Scheme established by the IMO in 1968 to reduce collision risks, due to mines located in the usual passage.
Pause in Operations and Regional Reactions
Dominguez explained that after "consultations with some countries, particularly in the region," he decided to pause evacuations of those trapped because of the US-Iran war. Despite the pause, tracking platforms showed Friday that vessels continued to use a non-Iranian-approved passage. A memorandum of understanding signed by Iran and the United States last week includes a commitment by Tehran to clear the mines from the area within 30 days.
Meanwhile, Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi welcomed Oman's provision of a temporary maritime corridor for the IMO scheme, as reported by Reuters. He also condemned what he called Iranian threats to freedom of navigation in the strait.
