Shipping
IMO Directs Stranded Ships to Await Contact as Hormuz Evacuation Begins
The International Maritime Organization instructed thousands of vessels stranded in the Persian Gulf to remain in place and await individual contact as it begins evacuating more than 11,000 seafarers trapped for months by conflict. Despite a U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, the Strait of Hormuz remains hazardous, with the traditional Traffic Separation Scheme unusable due to mines. Ships will be directed to a waiting area off Oman and offered two routes: a northern corridor coordinated by Iran or a southern route coordinated by Oman and the United States.
