The United Nations is preparing to evacuate over 11,000 mariners stranded in the Strait of Hormuz since the war erupted, coordinating with multiple countries including Iran and the United States.
On 23 June 2026, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a UN specialized agency, announced that a memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran has paved the way for a plan to evacuate more than 11,000 stranded mariners in the Strait of Hormuz.
Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the IMO, said the operation will be conducted in cooperation with Iran, Oman, other coastal states, the United States, and the shipping industry. The plan appears to prioritize gradually and strictly controlled traffic clearance from the region rather than fully reopening normal shipping lanes at once.
Oman's National Hydrographic Office stated that "temporary shipping lanes" are being opened in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most strategic maritime transport points. The announcement said the usual "Traffic Separation Scheme" (TSS) system is "currently unsafe to use."
As a result, vessels may be required to reroute through two temporary outbound lanes to pass the Strait of Hormuz, one north and one south of the original TSS system.
Oman's navigation warning notes that evacuations will be phased, with vessels grouped and departures managed under IMO coordination. Ships cannot depart at will; instead, each group will be contacted individually with instructions on when they are authorized to sail.
Additionally, each vessel will be assigned a specific transit date through the strait by coordinators working with the IMO.
Upon receiving this information, ships can move to designated "waiting areas" in international waters. Once there, they must contact the relevant coastal state along the chosen route to confirm that maritime traffic conditions are safe to proceed.
The warning did not provide detailed coordinates for the second temporary route but indicated two possible lanes: north and south of the original shipping system. Furthermore, maritime traffic may be temporarily halted for safety and security reasons, including to avoid encounters with naval warships.
Follow international news:https://www.thairath.co.th/news/foreign
Source:cnn