By Jonathan Saul and Renee Maltezou
ATHENS, June 1 (Reuters) – Despite the current ceasefire between the United States and Iran, it remains too risky to move the thousands of sailors stuck in the Gulf, the head of the U.N.’s shipping agency said.
“We will not be able to activate anything until the root causes are addressed and there is more of a final agreement, a ceasefire, or complete agreement, between the parties involved in the conflict,” Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization, told Reuters on Sunday ahead of the start of the Posidonia shipping industry week in Athens.
There are an estimated 20,000 seafarers aboard vessels stuck in the Gulf as Iran imposes restrictions on movements through the Strait of Hormuz.
“In the meantime, it’s going to be too risky to take any actions in moving the seafarers because there are no guarantees on their safety,” Dominguez said.
Eleven seafarers have been killed in the Gulf since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on Feb. 28, according to IMO data.
The IMO has been trying to arrange a safe maritime corridor to enable vessels to exit, including discussions with parties involving Iran in Oman in recent weeks, Dominguez said.
“You get announcements that the Strait of Hormuz is open, and then a few hours later, the Strait of Hormuz is closed. We can’t take the risk until we have something more secure,” he said.
Traffic through the strait, which normally carries 20% of the world’s daily supply of crude oil and liquefied natural gas, has slowed to a handful of tankers.
Ship operators say after three months stranded, ship crews need a negotiated, safe way out.
“The seafarers on board are missing out, not only on seeing their families but also on births, on deaths, on marriages,” Pankaj Khanna, CEO of Heidmar Maritime Holdings Corp, told Reuters on the sidelines of a Capital Link shipping conference in Athens on Monday.
He said Heidmar has a vessel that has been stuck in the Gulf for three months.
“What we need is obviously a framework, rules, regulation, whatever tells us exactly how we can go in and get out. So even if a peace deal was signed, that needs to be clarified.”
(Reporting by Jonathan Saul and Renee Maltezou; editing by Jason Neely)
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