IMO Chief Says Escort Does Not Guarantee Safety of Ship Travel in Strait of Hormuz

JAKARTA - The head of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) said that naval escort through the Strait of Hormuz would not "100 percent guarantee" the safety of ships trying to cross the waterway.

Military assistance "is not a long-term or sustainable solution" to opening the strait, Arsenio Dominguez told the Financial Times as reported Tuesday, launching Al Arabiya from Reuters (17/3).

As previously reported, US President Donald Trump accused some Western allies of not knowing how to be grateful after several countries rejected his request to send warships to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

"We are collateral victims of the conflict when the root cause has nothing to do with shipping," Dominguez told the FT, adding that the IMO has serious concerns about ships trapped in the Gulf and running out of food and supplies for their crews.

The IMO Council is scheduled to hold an Extraordinary Meeting on Wednesday and Thursday at its headquarters in London, England, to discuss the impact on shipping and seafarers as a result of the ongoing Middle East conflict.

"Dominguez called on ship operators "not to sail and not to endanger sailors and not to endanger ships," the report said.

The vital Strait of Hormuz, where 20 percent of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows, remained partially closed, raising energy prices and inflation fears.

The closures have also forced rapid and costly supply chain changes to maintain vital import flows, with logistics firms scrambling to cope with the problems of changing ship destinations, moving goods by land, and keeping perishable goods from rotting.