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A very big and relieving news is coming out from the Middle East (West Asia) regarding international trade and global energy security. A global mega evacuation operation has been launched to safely evacuate more than 11,000 mariners (sailors) who have been stranded for the past several weeks in the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most strategically sensitive waterway. The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the highest maritime organization of the United Nations, has officially said that under this historic rescue operation, with the help of hundreds of huge commercial ships, workers stranded at sea will be given life support.
The path to this very big and risky step became easier when recently a historic peace agreement was concluded between America and Iran. After this agreement to end the long-running military conflict between the two superpowers, efforts are now being made on a war footing to bring the stalled international maritime traffic and commercial shipping back on track in the Gulf region.
500 to 600 commercial ships will participate in the mega-campaign
According to the report released by IMO, the magnitude of this rescue operation going on in the middle of the sea can be gauged from the fact that about 500 to 600 international commercial ships are being deployed in it. This agency of the United Nations has started direct satellite contact with all the small and big ships and cargo captains stranded in the Gulf region, so that the sailors can be evacuated through a safe corridor without any disturbance.
Let us tell you that before this fierce war and blockade, about 130 cargo ships used to pass through the Strait of Hormuz every day, but during the recent times of tension, this number had reduced to just 20 to 30 ships per day. Now after the implementation of this mega evacuation plan, it is expected that global maritime trade and ship movement will gradually return to its old level.
Two new sea routes ready for safe movement
The International Maritime Organization has established two new temporary navigation routes (sea routes) in the troubled waters of Hormuz to carry out this operation in complete safety:
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Northern Route: This new route will pass very close to the coast of Iran.
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Southern Route: This safe route will proceed through the maritime border areas of Oman and United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The organization has issued strict instructions saying that this is a very sensitive military and civilian rescue operation, hence the movement of ships can be temporarily stopped in the middle of the sea at any time based on security reasons and real-time inputs.
Big danger of ‘landmines’ and drone attacks hidden in the sea
IMO has issued a serious warning to shipping captains around the world in its official bulletin. According to the agency, the war may have stopped, but there is still a significant risk of poor navigation conditions due to floating mines (Naval Mines) and debris in the depths of the sea.
For this reason, strict instructions have been given to the captains of the ships not to make the mistake of proceeding on their own will or by taking shortcuts and only wait for the instructions of the naval officers. Under this operation, each ship is being included in a particular ‘transit group’ (fleet) and only after security checks, they are being allotted different days and times for the journey.
Horrors of war: 14 innocent sailors have lost their lives so far
During this entire maritime crisis that started after the Israel-Iran tension in the Middle East, till now a total of 14 innocent sailors have died tragically in missile and suicide drone attacks on cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. Due to these continuous attacks in the region, global maritime transport and supply chains were completely disrupted, which severely affected the global supply of crude oil, LPG and gas across the world including India and increased inflation. This is the reason why this rescue operation of the United Nations is being considered very important not only to save human lives but also to handle the crumbling economy of the entire world.