The International Maritime Organization is planning to start carrying out its evacuation plan for the more than 11,000 seafarers that have been stranded in the Strait of Hormuz since February.
In a June 23 release, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said that coalition will carry out a large-scale operation with cooperation between the maritime industry and the U.S., Iran, Oman and other Gulf Coast states.
“We have secured the necessary safety guarantees and have thoroughly verified the conditions for safe navigation to support these operations,” Dominguez said, while praising the recent memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran as a “decisive step toward restoring maritime security.”
According to data from maritime tracking firm Kpler, June 20 marked the busiest day of transits through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began, with 35 commercial vessels moving through the waterway. However, the longer term status of the waterway remains uncertain. On June 23, Iran’s chief negotiator warned that the strait will “never return to its pre-war conditions,” while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized that Iran would not be allowed to charge tolls or fees as part of any final agreement to end the war.
Despite the White House’s hardline stance on free passage through the strait, Iran still has plans to introduce a system of fees for ships transiting the waterway after the MOU’s 60-day negotiating period expires. Shipping companies have warned that the proposal could leave carriers facing renewed uncertainty just as traffic begins to recover, with questions remaining over whether any final agreement can reconcile Iran’s fee plans with U.S. demands for unrestricted movement in the strait.
Conflicting reports over larger peace talks have continued to trickle out as well. Although Iran has denied making any new commitments to allow United Nations inspectors to access its nuclear sites, President Donald Trump claimed on his Truth Social platform that Iran had agreed to high-level nuclear inspections in perpetuity.
