The Albany Gazette - UN maritime head urges halt to Hormuz transit to protect seafarers

US President Donald Trump earlier Wednesday said the US-Iran ceasefire was over, though he left the door open to more talks, after fighting sparked by Iranian attacks on ships in the vital strait.

Tehran's military has struck at least three ships in recent days, prompting extensive US strikes against Iranian targets Tuesday followed by retaliatory attacks from Iran on Gulf countries.

IMO secretary general Arsenio Dominguez condemned the attacks and called for "maximum restraint and de-escalation", as well as to facilitate the departure of ships blocked in the Gulf.

"As long as the safety and security of crews cannot be assured, I urge flag States, shipowners, operators and all relevant authorities to avoid exposing seafarers to unnecessary danger by transiting the Strait," Dominguez said in a statement.

"The safety of seafarers must remain our foremost priority."

The strategic shipping route for oil, gas and fertilisers remains a flashpoint in the conflict, which began in late February with massive US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Dominguez said the "attacks further intensify the fear, uncertainty and psychological strain already being endured by the nearly 6,000 seafarers who remain stranded on board vessels unable to depart" the Gulf safely.

Shortly after the June 17 preliminary agreement between the United States and Iran to end the war, which enabled a gradual resumption of traffic through the strait, the IMO began an initiative to evacuate more than 11,000 seafarers stuck in the Gulf on around 600 ships.

The effort was supposed to last several weeks, but was suspended after only several days following an attack on a vessel in the Gulf of Oman.

The effort used one route close to Iran's coast and a second close to Oman, as the main pre-war route in the middle of strait was too risky because of mines laid during the conflict.

The member nations of the IMO, a specialized UN agency, also adopted a resolution calling for international waterways to remain open to transport.

Tehran insists on controlling the Strait of Hormuz, saying it will charge fees for passage and threatening to hit vessels that deviate from its authorised route.

The United States has insisted on a return to free passage of the strait, as was the case before the war.

The IMO resolution said any measures taken "should not discriminate in form or in fact among foreign ships or have the practical effect of denying, hampering or impairing the right of transit passage in accordance with international law".

(A.Moore--TAG)