IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez called on Member States to refrain from actions that endanger merchant ships and put seafarers’ lives at risk, addressing the IMO’s Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers, which is meeting in London from September 14 to 18 to discuss safety issues related to the transport of dangerous goods, bulk cargoes and containers by sea. Dominguez warned that geopolitical tensions are having severe impacts on the shipping industry, stating: “We are reaching a point where these conflicts are being used as a pretext to attack merchant vessels and innocent seafarers.” He stressed that the attacks are not attributable to a single actor, noting that in the Strait of Hormuz and in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, more than one country has been responsible for attacking merchant vessels.
Since the current Middle East conflict began on February 28, the IMO has verified 80 attacks on international shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in the deaths of at least 22 seafarers and injuries to many others, with dozens of additional deaths reported separately in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov and four seafarers killed in an August 11 Houthi attack. While acknowledging that addressing the root causes of these conflicts falls outside the IMO’s mandate, Dominguez urged delegates to raise the impacts on international shipping with their governments and relevant United Nations bodies, saying the IMO secretariat stands ready to contribute workable solutions at the technical and operational level. “It falls to you and your capitals, and relevant bodies of the United Nations, to address the root causes and find solutions,” he told the sub-committee.
Source: Ship & Bunker — https://shipandbunker.com/news/world/594478-stop-attacking-merchant-ships-and-seafarers-imo-secretary-general-tells-member-states
Tags: IMO, Strait of Hormuz, Seafarer Safety, Black Sea
