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Agencies

Military escorts to protect tankers in the Strait of Hormuz are not a sustainable solution, according to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
“It reduces the risk, but the risk is still there,” IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez told the Financial Times. He said that a military deployment was “not a long-term or sustainable solution”.
US President Donald Trump has called for an international naval operation off the Iranian coast to secure oil shipments, saying at the weekend that securing the waterway “should have always been a team effort, and now it will be”.
But on Monday there was only a lukewarm response, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz saying the war started by US-Israeli strikes on Iran was “not a matter for Nato”, while Britain, Spain, Poland, Greece and Sweden all distanced themselves from the calls. Australia and Japan also opted not to join.
Dominguez also expressed concern about the ship crews stranded in the Gulf.

“The situation is concerning, particularly because ships are actually not able to operate freely in the Strait of Hormuz or in the region of the Gulf. Access to ports is limited as well because port facilities are being targeted,” the head of the UN organisation said.
He said that at some point, supplies of food, water and fuel on board would also become scarce.
Shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, an important route for the international transport of oil and liquefied gas, has practically come to a standstill due to the war and the threat of Iranian attacks.
Oil prices surged more than 5 per cent on Tuesday as several countries pushed back against Trump’s demand that they help secure the strait, while Iran continued to target crude-producing neighbours.
They recovered the previous day’s sharp losses that came after the head of the International Energy Agency said more stockpiles could be tapped if needed.


Iran’s leadership continues to export oil, with China as the main buyer. Thirteen supertankers had been loaded at the oil depot island of Kharg since the beginning of the war, the state-run Iranian television network SNN reported.
Iran’s oil production and exports were continuing without interruption, its parliamentary energy commission spokesman said on Tuesday, adding that daily life was going on as usual on Kharg Island.
The island is Iran’s main oil export hub, representing 90 per cent of the Opec member’s oil shipments. Military assets on the island were struck by the US last week.
The commission spokesman reiterated Iran’s threat that any foreign attack on Kharg Island would lead to “a greater humiliation than the Strait of Hormuz”, as quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Reporting by dpa, Reuters, Agence France-Presse


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The UN organisation head said an international naval operation, as suggested by Trump, would not be sustainable


The UN organisation head said an international naval operation, as suggested by Trump, would not be sustainable.


Military escort for tankers in Strait of Hormuz not long-term fix: IMO head

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The UN organisation head said an international naval operation, as suggested by Trump, would not be sustainable

The UN organisation head said an international naval operation, as suggested by Trump, would not be sustainable