IMO Secretary-General Mr. Arsenio Dominguez has called on member states of the United Nations to uphold the principle of freedom of navigation and reject any imposition of tolls, fees or discriminatory transit measures for passage through straits used for international navigation.
Addressing the UN Security Council on Monday 27 April, the topic of ‘The safety and protection of waterways in the maritime domain, he emphasized that freedom of navigation is non-negotiable and that ships must be allowed to trade unhindered around the world in accordance with international law.
Deviation from these well-established and recognized principles would set a negative precedent and severely undermine the integrity and stability of shipping operations worldwide, he added.
“Straits used for international navigation cannot be closed by bordering States. Equally, there is no legal basis for any country to introduce payments or impose tolls, fees or any discriminatory conditions on international straits,” he told the UN Security Council.
Secretary General Dominguez also told the Security Council that approximately, 20,000 innocent seafarers and nearly 2,000 vessels are trapped in the Persian Gulf. He added that the IMO has begun the development of an evacuation framework using the existing traffic separation scheme – which was established by the IMO in 1968 – to securely evacuate ships and seafarers from the conflict zone provided it is safe to do so.
He urged States to support the IMO’s plan to facilitate the evacuation of affected seafarers and, at the appropriate time, to assist with the clearance of any hazards to the commercial ships navigating in the Strait of Hormuz, including mines.
