IMO ensures secure Hormuz transit

‘Priority now is to ensure an evacuation that guarantees the safety of navigation.’

Agence France-Presse·8 April 2026, 11:46 pm·1 MIN READ

IMO ensures secure Hormuz transit — AN aerial view shows a tanker near the fuel depot of Aral at the Ruhr Oel petroleum refineries of BP Gelsenkirchen GmbH in Gelsenkirchen, western Germany on 7 April 2026. Oil prices plunged by more than 17 percent after the Middle East ceasefire announcement, while European natural gas dropped 20 percent in early trade Wednesday in Asia.
PHOTOGRAPH courtesy of INA FASSBENDER/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The United Nations agency responsible for safety at sea said Wednesday that it is working to ensure “security of transit” through the Strait of Hormuz following the announcement of a ceasefire in the Middle East war.

“I am already working with the relevant parties to implement an appropriate mechanism to ensure the safe transit of ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” said International Maritime Organization (IMO) chief Arsenio Dominguez.

“The priority now is to ensure an evacuation that guarantees the safety of navigation,” he said in a statement.

The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, with Iran saying it had agreed to provide safe passage in the Strait.

Two ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz since Iran agreed to reopen the waterway as part of a ceasefire deal, maritime monitor MarineTraffic said Wednesday.

“The Greek-owned bulk carrier NJ Earth crossed the Strait at 08:44 UTC, while the Liberia-flagged Daytona Beach transited earlier at 06:59 UTC, shortly after departing Bandar Abbas at 05:28 UTC,” MarineTraffic said on X.

Under the ceasefire, passage through the strait “will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X.