First ships sail through Hormuz under UN-backed evacuation plan

LONDON, June 24 — Ships have already sailed through the Strait of Hormuz under a newly launched evacuation scheme by the UN’s shipping agency, a spokesman said today.

“Ships have already begun to pass under the plan,” a spokesperson with the UN’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said, declining to provide any details on the vessels that had crossed.

At least two dry bulk ships and one cargo ship have sailed through Hormuz under the scheme in past 12 hours, LSEG ship tracking data showed today.

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.

The scheme, 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 IMO said yesterday. — Reuters