International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Dominguez announced on the 17th (local time) that approximately 20,000 seafarers and over 2,000 ships are currently isolated in the Persian Gulf. Secretary-General Dominguez urged each country to strengthen diplomatic efforts to support the evacuation plans for the isolated seafarers. He also emphasized that hazardous materials such as mines threatening merchant shipping in the Strait of Hormuz should be removed at an appropriate time, and that normal operations should be resumed as soon as possible by providing practical guarantees to the shipping industry, including securing reasonably priced insurance.
