International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has further condemned the attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea.
Speaking during the 9525th meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the maintenance of international peace and security, Dominguez also ramped up his call for de-escalation of hostilities in the Red Sea to ensure the safety of seafarers, freedom of navigation, and stability of supply chains.
Dominguez noted that since the beginning of November, a number of attacks have been launched against international vessels navigating in this vital shipping lane that records around 15% of international shipping trade.
"Let me start by reiterating my condemnation of the attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea area and reiterate the strong commitment of the International Maritime Organization to protect seafarers, ships and cargoes, which is of the utmost importance to ensure the safety and security of global supply chains," he said.
"Attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea area are not acceptable," Dominguez added. "Ships must be allowed to trade worldwide unhindered and in accordance with international law."
The IMO chief noted that while the initial target was ships linked to Israel, the information received in recent events shows that this doesn't seem to be the case.
Dominguez said the IMO continues to closely monitor the situation and liaise with the industry representatives and navies.
"A significant number of companies, around 18 shipping companies, have already decided to re-route their vessels around South Africa in order to reduce the attacks on vessels and, of course, the impact this has on seafarers in particular," he said.
"This represents an additional 10 days to the journey and, of course, a negative impact on trade and an increase in freight rates."
He said that an Extraordinary Meeting of the members of the Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC) was held on December 18 to discuss how to deal with increasing threats against international shipping in the Red Sea Area — and the meeting called for enhanced security measures, including coordination among signatory States, navies, and the industry, and continuous meetings/reviews and submission of recommendations to the International Maritime Organization and the United Nations Security Council.
"I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the call for de-escalation to ensure the safety of our seafarers, freedom of navigation and stability of supply chains," the IMO chief further said.
Separately, various shipping organizations — the World Shipping Council (WSC), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and BIMCO — have issued a joint statement expressing their thanks to the 12 nations that have jointly condemned the ongoing illegal attacks on ships in the Red Sea and unlawful detention of vessels and crews there.
"As the governments of the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom have all stated, these attacks are unacceptable, illegal and directly threaten the freedom of navigation that is fundamental to global trade," the statement said.
The shipping associations also called on all nations and international organisations to protect seafarers, the international trade in the Red Sea and to support the welfare of the global commons by bringing all pressure to bear on the aggressors so that these intolerable attacks cease with immediate effect.
