The Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization Arsenio Dominguez delivered the following address to the France-UK Summit on Freedom of Navigation in the Strait of Hormuz on 17 April 2026:
Excellencies, Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister,
I would like to start by sincerely thanking you for this initiative, for your leadership, and for your engagement with the International Maritime Organization.
The geopolitical conflict around the Strait of Hormuz is having a very negative effect on seafarers and shipping, and on the global population and economy.
Approximately, 20,000 innocent seafarers and nearly 2,000 vessels remained trapped in the Persian Gulf. Any disruption to shipping represents a global interference to energy and food security.
The principle of freedom of navigation is not negotiable.
In accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and customary international law:
• 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 discriminatory conditions on straits.
Any deviation, from these well-established and recognized principles would set a negative precedent and severely undermine the integrity and stability of shipping operations worldwide.
Since 1968, the International Maritime Organization has established a traffic separation scheme or maritime corridor, in the Strait of Hormuz.
This maritime corridor, jointly operated between Oman and Iran, has ensured safe navigation for decades. This is a mandatory mechanism in accordance with the IMO Safety of Life and Sea rules. Both countries are signatories to this Convention.
Our main concern remains the safety and the well-being of the innocent seafarers trapped in the Gulf due to the conflict.
Following the IMO Council decision, I have begun the development of an evacuation framework, using the existing traffic separation scheme, to securely evacuate ships and seafarers from the conflict zone provided it is safe to do so. The technical and operational developments are being carried out with the involvement of the regional countries, including Iran, and with the support from relevant countries assisting in the negotiations. As an Organization, we are ready to implement this framework without delay.
In this respect, I call upon your support to intensify the diplomatic work and engagement with IMO and the United Nations as a whole to, in particular to:
• Uphold the principle of freedom of navigation;
• Reject an imposition of tolls, fees or discriminatory transit measures for the passage through a strait used for international navigation;
• Support the IMO’s plan to facilitate the evacuation of affected seafarers;
• At the appropriate time, assist with the clearance of any hazards to the commercial ships navigating in the Strait of Hormuz, including mines;
• Provide any technical and operational civilian assistance to operationalize the evacuation framework; and
• Ensure practical assurances to the shipping sector, including access to insurance at reasonable costs, to enable the resumption of normal operations as soon as practicably possible.
I would like to close by appreciating the support provided by the countries in the region in delivering essential supplies to seafarers in the Persian Gulf, safeguarding their well-being and to continue to do so, and also to facilitate crew changes when safe and possible.
Shipping and seafarers should never be used as leverage in geopolitical conflicts.
Thank you.
