UN evacuation scheme: Ships start sailing through Hormuz

LONDON: Ships have begun sailing through the Strait of Hormuz under a new scheme by the UN’s shipping agency to evacuate vessels trapped there by the conflict, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The initiative, which has taken months to conclude, will enable hundreds of ships with some 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf to sail through Hormuz, the International Maritime Organization said on Tuesday. “Ships have already begun to pass under the plan,” an IMO spokesperson said on Wednesday, declining to provide any details of the vessels that had crossed.

At least two dry bulk ships and one cargo ship have sailed through Hormuz under the scheme in the past 12 hours, LSEG ship tracking data showed on Wednesday.

Three stranded tankers carrying 5 million barrels of crude oil were also exiting the Strait of Hormuz, with two heading to Asia, shipping data showed. It was not clear if these vessels sailed out under the IMO scheme.

At least 35 smaller ships, mainly dry bulk, cargo and container vessels as well as five oil tankers and tugs, were preparing to sail through the strait, according to LSEG and MarineTraffic ship tracking data based on Reuters analysis of ship movements. Under the scheme, which the IMO said was able to begin after the US and Iran reached a ceasefire framework, vessels will be able to use two temporary tracks to sail out — a northern route via Iranian waters and a southern route via “the Sultanate of Oman/United States-coordinated waters”.

“Vessels should wait for instructions before proceeding,” the IMO said in a note on the scheme issued on Wednesday.