Today the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization, Arsenio Dominguez, updated the board on the situation affecting ships and seafarers still stranded in the Strait of Hormuz region. "You will remember - said Dominguez - that, following of the outcome of the thirty-sixth extraordinary session of the Council, I have started work with the Member States concerned and the Member States concerned. industry representatives for the development of a evacuation and, at the end of June, we were able to give start of evacuation to bring ships and seafarers to safety stranded in the Strait of Hormuz." Dominguez announced that 'During the period of operation of the evacuation, 136 ships with a total of 2,900 seafarers were evacuated. successfully evacuated via two alternative routes, as the current Traffic Separation Scheme could not be used to due to safety risks, in particular due to the presence of sea mines. As you know - he added referring to the resurgence of the crisis between the US and Iran and the new attacks on the ships transiting the region - this process has been subsequently suspended, as it was no longer possible ensure the safety of ships and seafarers'.

"About 6,000 seafarers - underlined the IMO Secretary General - remain trapped in the region. I keep looking for guarantees so that ships can evacuate the Strait of Hormuz using one of the alternative routes provided, without the risk of attack threats. I remain confident that the evacuation plan can be resumed and the Secretariat continues to work with stakeholders to this end, so that the thousands of of seafarers involved can return to safety and the normal commercial conditions can begin to be restored in the area".

With regard to the interested parties, Dominguez thanked nations in the region and industry partners for their support, and in particular the Sultanate of Oman for its cooperation with the IMO in establishing the framework for evacuation.

Dominguez also focused on the persistent cost high level of marine insurance in the region as other cause for great concern, which further aggravates the situation for shipowners and operators. "This - he noted - indicates that market prices are not adjusting to the improvement of conditions. Governments that have influence on the insurance and reinsurance markets - he urged - have a role to play to be carried out in dialogue with insurance companies to ensure that the rewards reflect the current reality, rather than continue to reflect the peak of the crisis. This does not contributes to the reduction of freight transport costs and affects in particular the countries of those regions that have already suffered the consequences of these conflicts and require assistance and of the recovery of maritime trade".