London: "An escort fleet" is not a guarantee of Hormuz's safety. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) stated that naval escorts do not guarantee 100% safety for ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently effectively closed off by Iran. Arsenillo Dominguez, Secretary-General of the IMO, the United Nations agency overseeing maritime transport, told the Financial Times that military assistance is not a long-term or sustainable solution for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. A naval escort reduces the risk, but doesn't eliminate it. Commercial ships and their crews remain vulnerable.

According to Thai News Agency, Dominguez attributed the problem to the Strait's location, surrounded by Iranian mountains, making it susceptible to unnoticed attacks from higher elevations. The strait is 33 kilometers wide at its narrowest point, but the deep-water shipping lane is only about 2 nautical miles (approximately 4 kilometers) wide. The IMO Secretary-General also stated that the IMO is deeply concerned that crews stranded in the Persian Gulf or Arabian Gulf will face shortages of food, water, and fuel, and has requested shipping companies to collect and report this information in order to focus on assisting the vessels most in need.

The IMO will hold an extraordinary session on March 18-19 to discuss the risks to shipowners in the Persian Gulf and called on all parties to de-escalate the situation. The IMO Secretary-General emphasized that shipping managers should not put their crews and vessels at risk while the situation remains unresolved.

Data from UKMTO, the UK's maritime trade agency, indicates that between March 2 and 14, 2026, only 47 cargo and oil tankers passed through the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran attacked 18 ships in the region since the start of the war and the new Supreme Leader ordered the strait closed.