UN maritime body secures safety pledges to evacuate ships stuck in Persian Gulf

24 JUNE 2026

International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has announced a plan to evacuate all the ships — and the 11,000 seafarers on them — stranded in the Persian Gulf due to the war in West Asia.
“This large-scale operation will be carried out in close cooperation with Iran, Oman, and all other coastal states in the region, the United States, and the maritime industry,” he said.
The IMO, a UN agency, referred to a letter written by Oman’s Ministry of Defence to Pakistan’s National Hydrographic Office that gives a detailed plan for the evacuation.
Pakistan, along with Qatar, has been a mediator in the negotiations between Iran and the U.S.