IMO Seeks Practical Solutions to Restore Freedom of Navigation in Hormuz

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday August 28, 2026

The head of IMO is calling for practical solutions to restore freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, six months after the conflict in the Middle East began.

“Six months since the conflict in the Middle East began, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz is unresolved,” IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said in an emailed statement on Friday.

He added that up to 400 ships carrying around 6,000 seafarers have been unable to safely leave the Persian Gulf since the conflict began, while some vessels and crews have managed to depart.

The IMO has verified at least 70 attacks on international shipping, with 19 seafarers killed.

“Thousands of seafarers in the region continue to live and work under conditions of heightened risk and uncertainty,” Dominguez said.

In July, the IMO Council adopted a resolution reaffirming the right of transit passage through international straits and called for a coordinated return to unhindered navigation through Hormuz.

“Renewed political will and cooperation is needed to deliver on this commitment,” Dominguez said.

He urged member states and the shipping industry to work with the IMO and the wider UN system to restore freedom of navigation through the Strait.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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