Around 1,500 vessels and approximately 20,000 crew members remain stranded in the Gulf following Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the head of the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Speaking at the Maritime Convention of the Americas in Panama, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the disruption has severely affected global shipping operations in one of the world’s most critical trade corridors.
“Right now, we have approximately 20,000 crewmen and around 1,500 ships trapped,” Dominguez said.
The blockade came amid escalating tensions in the Middle East after Israel and the United States launched military strikes against Iran on February 28.
Tehran later retaliated across the region, including moves that disrupted maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
The narrow waterway is considered a vital route for global energy and commercial trade, with a significant portion of the world’s oil shipments passing through it daily.
