IMO and 40-nation coalition prepare bid to reopen Hormuz

• IMO in talks with Iran and Oman
• 40 countries operating to reopen Hormuz
• Using existing traffic separation scheme

Intense efforts are under way to restore commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) spearheads plans to evacuate 20,000 seafarers.

The UN shipping body’s diplomatic push comes as the UK and France prepare a 40-nation maritime protection mission aimed at reopening the strait, with the UAE and Bahrain among the participating countries.

The IMO’s secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez travelled to Muscat on Monday for talks with Oman’s foreign minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi on the agency’s evacuation framework for Hormuz.

The proposal would use an existing IMO-administered traffic separation scheme that has been jointly operated by Muscat and Tehran since 1968 to move ships and stranded crew out of the contested waterway.

Speaking at the UN agency’s headquarters in London on Wednesday, Dominguez said he had held talks with Iranian and Omani authorities on advancing the plan.

“The conversations are progressing,” he said. “We are discussing how to implement the evacuation framework, the application of IMO rules and the responsibilities of both countries under the traffic separation scheme.

“The objective is to resume operations in the region as they were before the conflict started. I remain positive with the engagement that I have.”

Oman’s foreign ministry said Al Busaidi had stressed during the meeting the need to uphold international law and the law of the sea, while pursuing “amicable and peaceful means” with relevant parties.

The UK has said it will contribute drones, fighter jets and warships to the maritime rescue scheme. Defence secretary John Healey said the deployment would include autonomous mine-clearing systems, drone boats and Typhoon fighter jets for air patrols.

“With our allies, this multinational mission will be defensive, independent, and credible,” Healey said.

The UK Ministry of Defence said the operation, first announced with France last month, was intended to restore confidence for commercial shipping transiting Hormuz.

The destroyer HMS Dragon, which is already sailing towards the Middle East, will be available for operations in the region alongside autonomous mine-clearing systems and counter-drone equipment.

The IMO believes the traffic separation scheme could form the basis of a gradual reopening of the strait because it supported safe navigation for decades before the war began.

An IMO official said extensive behind-the-scenes engagement with regional governments and international partners was continuing in a bid to secure the safe passage of trapped vessels and the evacuation of seafarers.

“Everything is ready to be implemented – once it is safe to do so,” the official told AGBI.

Separately, QatarEnergy has instructed ships calling at Ras Laffan, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) export centre, to switch off their automatic identification system (AIS) transponders when entering the area.

A company advisory seen by The Wall Street Journal said ships approaching Ras Laffan “within the port, anchorages, and port waters must switch off AIS with immediate effect until further notice”.

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Iranian attacks on QatarEnergy facilities at Ras Laffan in March destroyed nearly a fifth of the country’s LNG export capacity. Repairs are expected to take up to five years.

Before the “go dark” order, around 40 ships were transmitting their positions around Ras Laffan. By Tuesday, only one vessel was publicly transmitting AIS data.

Speaking to AGBI, Saleem Khan of London-based maritime intelligence firm Pole Star Global said the collapse in visible vessel traffic reflected both security concerns and sharply reduced shipping activity.

Khan said at least three vessels had been hit in separate incidents near Qatar since the start of the war.

“Where we used to see 40 vessels, we can now only see one,” he said. “But let’s remember vessel volume is down nearly 90 percent, alongside a huge drop in traffic and vessels being struck by kinetic attacks.”