IMO Begins Evacuating 11,000 Seafarers Stranded in Gulf After U.S.-Israel Attack on Iran

The International Maritime Organization on Tuesday began implementing a plan to evacuate more than 11,000 seafarers from 500 to 600 ships stranded in the Persian Gulf since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the agency had secured the necessary safety guarantees and verified conditions for safe navigation.

The plan will proceed in close cooperation with Iran, Oman, other coastal states in the region, the United States and the maritime industry. Oman's Navy issued a bulletin directing ships to exit in a phased approach through two temporary maritime corridors south and north of the prewar Traffic Separation Scheme.

The bulletin stated that the prewar lanes are not safe for use and that vessels will receive individual departure instructions and assigned transit days.

Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding to reopen the strait nearly a week earlier. Ship traffic has risen since the agreement. Kpler's MarineTraffic service recorded 93 vessel transits the weekend of June 19 to 21, compared with 32 between June 12 and 14.

At least 39 ships crossed on Monday, June 22, the highest daily total since the start of the war. Before the conflict, more than 100 ships transited the strait each day and about 20 percent of global oil supplies passed through the waterway. U.S.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress on June 2 that Iran had mined large segments of the strait.