The Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, Mr. Arsenio Dominguez, has called on Member States to refrain from actions that endanger merchant ships and put seafarers’ lives at risk.   

Addressing the IMO’s Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers, the Secretary-General warned of the severe impacts of geopolitical tensions on the shipping industry.  

Secretary-General Dominguez said: “We are reaching a point where these conflicts are being used as a pretext to attack merchant vessels and innocent seafarers. Do not use these conflicts to attack innocent seafarers.”  

Since the current conflict in the Middle East began on 28 February, IMO has verified 80 attacks on international shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in the deaths of at least 22 seafarers and injuries to many others.  

In the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, dozens of fatalities have reportedly resulted from attacks on international shipping in recent months, although precise numbers are difficult to verify.  

Attacks in the Red Sea have also resumed, with four fatalities confirmed in the latest attack by the Houthis on a merchant vessel on 11 August.  

Secretary-General Dominguez emphasized that the attacks across these conflicts are not attributable to one single actor: “In the Strait of Hormuz, it is not only one country attacking merchant vessels. In the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, it is not only one country attacking merchant vessels.”