Singapore: Nations defending freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz are delivering “the right message,” International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said, amid escalating Iran-US tensions threatening worldwide shipping, agencies reported.
Addressing media here on Monday, Dominguez urged restraint in wielding shipping as a geopolitical weapon.
Evacuation Plans and Hazard Clearance Efforts
The IMO has formulated evacuation protocols for approximately 20,000 seafarers marooned on more than 1,600 ships trapped in the Persian Gulf. It has further arranged with multiple nations to remove mines and other dangers from the strait ahead of shipping’s return, The Straits Times reported Tuesday, quoting the IMO leader.
A hoped-for relief from a two-week Washington-Tehran ceasefire fizzled when a chaotic April 18 weekend reopening concluded with the US enforcing its Iranian port blockade and capturing an Iranian vessel.
Ceasefire Uncertainty and Supply Chain Risks
Hormuz commercial flows ground to a near halt again on April 20, with doubts swirling over the US-Iran truce’s April 22 expiry and faltering second-round talks in Pakistan.
Disruptions to fertiliser and natural gas could stretch into 2027 — assuming conflict ends and trade restoration begins — Dominguez warned upon arriving for Singapore Maritime Week being held from April 20 to 24.
“The reality is that we need the global community to rally behind a de-escalation of the conflict to allow us to trade as usual,” he said, highlighting IMO discussions with Iran and neighbors like Oman on post-conflict safe passage.
“It’s not over yet but the sooner it comes to an end, the sooner we can all start tackling the next round of challenges,” the daily quoted Dominguez as saying.
“The longer this goes on, the more negative impacts we will see on the global economy.”
He remained cautiously optimistic: “I still see positives in the fact that the parties engaged in the conflict are talking to each other.”
Rejecting Tolls, Multinational Support and Future Safeguards
“I want to highlight the position of the Government of Singapore, which was very loud and clear that it was not going to negotiate on those terms,” he said.
Without naming backers, he nodded to a 51-nation summit hosted by France and the UK on April 17 addressing the Gulf crisis. To date, 22 countries back a “defensive” multinational effort to reopen the strait post-peace.
Plans hinge on safety: “We cannot put the seafarers at risk,” he stressed, citing weekend transits dodging military drones and missiles.
On reopening security like armed escorts, Dominguez foresaw short-term needs for reassurance and viable insurance, curbing freight costs.
But he cautioned: “We have to remember that we are not military assets and seafarers are not trained for combat.”
The IMO eyes options like new Hormuz corridors, bound by international law and its regulations.
“We need cooperation between Iran and Oman, not unilateral decisions,” he added. Oman shares strait borders and lanes.
For other chokepoints like the Strait of Malacca and Singapore Strait, Dominguez lauded the 2007 Singapore-Malaysia-Indonesia framework for navigation safety and eco-protection.
“It improves the operations of shipping and we can replicate it in other areas,” he said.
The Hormuz shutdown, he reflected, reaffirms secure shipping’s primacy.
“If we start transferring cargo from the Gulf region to other means of transportation, they will only be able to ship between 5 and 10 per cent of what shipping transports daily,” he said.
“We can find new ways of operating, we can find new routes. But we’re not going to be able to supply the demands of the global economy,” the IMO chief was quoted as saying.
