Ships have begun sailing through the Strait of Hormuz under a new scheme by the U.N.’s shipping agency to evacuate vessels trapped there by the conflict, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The initiative, which has taken months to conclude, will enable hundreds of ships with some 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf to sail through Hormuz, the International Maritime Organization said on Tuesday.
“Ships have already begun to pass under the plan,” an IMO spokesperson said on Wednesday, declining to provide any details of the vessels that had crossed.
At least two dry bulk ships and one cargo ship have sailed through Hormuz under the scheme in the past 12 hours, LSEG ship tracking data showed on Wednesday.
Three stranded tankers carrying 5 million barrels of crude oil were also exiting the Strait of Hormuz, with two heading to Asia, shipping data showed. It was not clear if these vessels sailed out under the IMO scheme.
At least 35 other commercial ships, mainly dry bulk, cargo and container vessels, were preparing to sail through the strait, according to LSEG and MarineTraffic ship tracking data based on Reuters analysis of ship movements.
Those vessels are smaller commercial ships, including five smaller oil tankers, coastal ships and tugs, according to analysis of the vessels waiting.
Under the scheme, which the IMO said was able to begin after the U.S. and Iran reached a ceasefire framework, vessels will be able to use two tracks to sail out — a northern route via Iranian waters and a southern route via “the Sultanate of Oman/United States-coordinated waters.”
“Vessels should wait for instructions before proceeding,” the IMO said in a note on the scheme issued Wednesday.
“Crowding the waiting area will only result in the need to pause further notifications for the safety of navigation.”
The so-called Traffic Separation Scheme, adopted by the IMO in 1968, established routing lanes through Iranian and Omani waters in the strait. This central section is not usable because of the risk of mines, shipping and maritime security sources said.
Other Hormuz traffic has picked up in recent days, with voyages averaging over 25 ships daily versus 10 to 11 vessels daily before that, according to Kpler analysis. It is still a fraction of the average daily sailings of 125 ships before the conflict began on Feb. 28.
More ships have been switching on their public AIS tracking transponders, but some may have gone undetected due in part to major disruption of AIS signals as well as ships not showing their movements through the strait.
There are 500 to 600 ships stranded in the Gulf, including as many as 100 tankers, according to IMO and market estimates. In recent weeks, the U.S. military had launched a mission to help ships out of the strait.
The IMO initiative did not support ships looking to enter the Gulf to pick up oil cargoes from Gulf producers.
“The (IMO) framework was developed due to the continued degradation of navigational safety within the strait and concerns over elevated collision risks,” British maritime risk management group Vanguard said in a note Wednesday.
“Shipowners and masters remain responsible for conducting independent voyage risk assessments prior to participation. Vessel movements may be suspended at any time for safety, security, or naval deconfliction purposes.”
Oil tanker rates have soared in recent days due to tightness of ship availability and safety concerns, which have included the risk of floating mines.
