IMO urges ships to check Strait of Hormuz security measures

Iran says UN's maritime agency 'mandated to protect' country from Israeli attacks

Guided-missile cruiser the USS Philippine Sea sails through the Strait of Hormuz. AFP

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The International Maritime Organisation has said there were no indications of any increased threat to shipping in the Arabian Gulf, despite Iranian calls for international measures to prevent escalation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Fears over a move to close the waterway after Israel’s targeting of Iran's nuclear infrastructure are rising.

Closure of the strait would disrupt global supply chains, as a fifth of global oil shipments pass through the channel that connects the Gulf to the Arabian Sea.

Speaking at the IMO’s annual safety meeting on Wednesday, secretary Arsenio Dominguez said no signs of closure or disruption had appeared yet. “We’re not at that stage,” he said, answering a question from The National.

Mr Dominguez urged shipping companies to carry out security assessments before attempting to cross the strait. “You need to carry out the security assessment and then make the decision whether it is appropriate and it is safe for the vessel to transit,” he said.

Arsenio Dominguez, secretary general of the International Maritime Organisation. AFP

Seyed Ali Mousavi, Iranian representative to the IMO – and also ambassador to the UK – warned in the morning session that increasing danger for ships was becoming apparent, after accusing Israel of attacking an oil refinery and gas field on the coast of Asalouyeh.

“These actions directly endanger international maritime security and the global energy supply chain,” he said. "If the international community fails to take urgent and concrete measures to halt this unlawful aggression, the risk of escalation at sea becomes imminent."

The IMO's position is there no sign of a crisis point as yet. “There's no indication that ships [or] seafarers are being targeted or any expected disruption right now in the region when it comes to maritime trade,” Mr Dominguez said.

Mr Mousavi said the IMO was “mandated to protect” Iran from attacks on its port and maritime infrastructure and criticised Israel for attacks on Iranian oil tankers and ports he said had been taking place since 2019.

“These hybrid threats – combining physical and cyber aggression – represent a multifaceted assault on maritime safety, port security and the freedom of navigation, which this organisation is mandated to protect,” he said.

Iranian state TV told the world to brace itself for a major attack, reporting on Wednesday that "tonight, a great surprise will occur – one that the world will remember for centuries". Israel and India also made statements about the war in their addresses to the convention.

Mr Dominguez said addressing the conflict was not within the agency’s remit, but that it was equipped to act in the event of a “negative impact” on shipping, as it did during the Red Sea crisis, when the Iran-backed Yemeni militia the Houthis targeted commercial ships crossing the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in response to Israel’s war in Gaza, notably when it negotiated the release of the crew of the stricken MV Galaxy Leader last year.

“There's no room for IMO or specific role for IMO to come in at this stage. If things evolve, I will be the first one to start speaking to the countries,” he said.

“I demonstrated clearly, when the ships were targeted in the Red Sea, that's when I spent considerable amount of time in actually talking to the countries, bringing the parties together to address the negative impact that this situation was having on shipping, seafarers, the environment, ships and the economy."

Oman – a member state of the agency - served as an intermediary for the Houthis. “Oman was a country that helped me greatly,” Mr Dominguez said.

The Houthis entered a ceasefire agreement with the US in May after an aggressive military campaign.

The latest statements Mr Dominguez received from the group since the dea, which they also sent to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, featured “no indication of targeting ships”.

Mr Dominguez addressed the disruption to commercial cargoes in the Red Sea. “The way that trade starts to flow back into the Red Sea is not something that will happen overnight,” he said. “But we have seen an increase already on trade going through the Red Sea and the Suez.”