Naval escorts will not guarantee safe passage for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz and could even present a target for Iran as it attempts to leverage control of the vital shipping lane, the head of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has warned.
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Naval escorts will not guarantee safe passage for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz and could even present a target for Iran as it attempts to leverage control of the vital shipping lane, the head of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has warned.
Speaking at the start of a two-day emergency meeting of the UN maritime agency’s governing council in London, secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez told Sky News “de-escalation” was the only sustainable way to restore the flow of shipping.
The Strait of Hormuz – in normal circumstances the conduit for a fifth of global oil demand – has effectively been closed for more than two weeks since the US-Israeli offensive against Iran.
Tehran responded to the assault by attacking tankers and other energy infrastructure, paralysing traffic and triggering a price shock on global energy markets.
Image: A tanker carrying Iraqi crude is seen with damage following an Iranian attack last week. Pic: Reuters ‘Not a long-term solution’
US President Donald Trump has called on allies including the UK to provide naval support for tankers to reopen the shipping lane, but Mr Dominguez warned that would not be enough to restore the flow of oil, cargo, fertilisers and food to and from the Gulf.
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“The reality is that a ship can still be targeted even with an escort vessel next to it, and it doesn’t really provide the guarantees, not even on insurance or to the seafarers, that trade can continue to come back. It’s not a long-term sustainable solution,” he said.
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