Military escort for tankers in Strait of Hormuz not long-term fix: IMO head

2026.03.17 09:20 Liberian-flagged tanker Shenlong Suezmax, carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia, arrives in Mumbai on Thursday after clearing the Strait of Hormuz. Photo: AP Military escorts to protect tankers in the Strait of Hormuz are not a sustainable solution, according to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). “It reduces the risk, but the risk is still there,” IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez told the Financial Times. He said that a military deployment was “not a long-term or sustainable solution”. US President Donald Trump has called for an international naval operation off the Iranian coast to secure oil shipments, saying at the weekend that securing the waterway “should have always been a team effort, and now it will be”. But on Monday there was only a lukewarm response, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz saying the war started by US-Israeli strikes on Iran was “not a matter for Nato”, while Britain, Spain, Poland, Greece and Sweden all distanced themselves from the calls. Australia and Japan also opted not to join. Dominguez also expressed concern about the ship crews stranded in the Gulf. Tankers sail in the Gulf off the United Arab Emirates coast, near the Strait of Hormuz, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters “The situation is concerning, particularly because ships are actually not able to operate freely in the Strait of Hormuz or in the region of the Gulf. Access to ports is limited as well because port facilities are being targeted,” the head of the UN organisation said. He said that at some point, supplies of food, water and fuel on board would also become scarce. Shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, an important route for the international transport of oil and liquefied gas, has practically come to a standstill due to the war and the threat of Iranian attacks. Oil prices surged more than 5 per cent on Tuesday as several countries pushed back against Trump’s demand that they help secure the strait, while Iran continued to target crude

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