<p class="ds-markdown-paragraph" style="margin: 16px 0px; color: rgb(15, 17, 21); font-family: quote-cjk-patch, Inter, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="">The International Maritime Organization has declined to confirm that mines have been cleared from the Strait of Hormuz, warning that passage through the waterway remains unsafe despite US Central Command's assertions that primary transit routes have been cleared . IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told a question-and-answer session at the organisation's London headquarters on 2 November 2026 that he had received no confirmation that the designated shipping lanes through the strait had been cleared of mines .</span></p><p class="ds-markdown-paragraph" style="margin: 16px 0px; color: rgb(15, 17, 21); font-family: quote-cjk-patch, Inter, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="">"There's no confirmation that there are no mines in the region. So I cannot guarantee that it's safe," Dominguez said. "That's why we're not recommending anyone to go through the Strait of Hormuz" . The statement places the IMO in direct contradiction with US Central Command, which has insisted that mines along primary transit routes have been cleared and that commercial ships are moving freely with US naval assets maintaining surveillance.</span></p><p class="ds-markdown-paragraph" style="margin: 16px 0px; color: rgb(15, 17, 21); font-family: quote-cjk-patch, Inter, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="">The operational consequence of the IMO's position is significant. The organisation's traffic separation scheme—the designated shipping lanes that normally govern transit through the chokepoint—is currently not in operation . Vessels still transiting the strait are using alternative routes to the north through Iranian waters under Iranian control, or to the south near the Omani coast with US naval escorts . Dominguez said the IMO has not adopted these arrangements, so the organisation cannot guarantee safe passage for vessels using them .</span></p><p class="ds-markdown-paragraph" style="margin: 16px 0px; color: rgb(15, 17, 21); font-family: quote-cjk-patch, Inter, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="">The IMO's caution reflects the difficulty of establishing facts in an active conflict. Dominguez noted that vessels had also been hit by unidentified projectiles, and that investigations were difficult during hostilities, making it impossible to establish whether some incidents involved mines, drones, or missiles . "But that doesn't change the message that it is just not safe to go through the Strait of Hormuz," he said . The inability to attribute attacks to specific weapons or actors means that the risk assessment cannot be refined, and the IMO's blanket warning remains the only defensible position.</span></p><p class="ds-markdown-paragraph" style="margin: 16px 0px; color: rgb(15, 17, 21); font-family: quote-cjk-patch, Inter, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="">The scale of the continuing threat is substantial. The IMO recorded about 30 attacks on ships in the strait and surrounding waters in October, making it one of the months with the highest numbers of attacks since the conflict began . Some incidents caused oil spills or other pollution, adding environmental damage to the human and commercial costs . Around 6,000 seafarers remained aboard approximately 350 to 400 ships in the Gulf region as of the IMO's briefing, and the organisation has been coordinating with regional countries, the International Transport Workers' Federation, and other stakeholders to provide supplies, medical care, mental health support, and family communications .</span></p><p class="ds-markdown-paragraph" style="margin: 16px 0px; color: rgb(15, 17, 21); font-family: quote-cjk-patch, Inter, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="">For India, the IMO's statement has direct implications for the safety of Indian seafarers and the security of energy imports. India is one of the largest contributors of sailors to merchant shipping worldwide, with more than 320,000 active seafarers in 2025, and Indian crews serve on vessels transiting the Gulf regardless of flag or ownership . The IMO's warning that the strait is not safe reinforces the risk that Indian seafarers face on a routine basis, and it validates the Indian government's repeated calls for de-escalation and the restoration of safe navigation.</span></p><p class="ds-markdown-paragraph" style="margin: 16px 0px; color: rgb(15, 17, 21); font-family: quote-cjk-patch, Inter, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="">The IMO's position also complicates the narrative of normalisation that has been promoted by the US military and by some carriers returning to Suez routings. If the IMO—the UN agency responsible for maritime safety—cannot confirm that the strait is safe, then insurers, charterers, and shipowners have a authoritative basis for maintaining elevated war-risk premiums and restrictive transit conditions. The gap between the US military's operational claims and the IMO's safety assessment is a gap that the shipping industry must navigate, and it explains why the risk premium in Gulf shipping has not collapsed despite the mine-clearing claims.</span></p><p class="ds-markdown-paragraph" style="margin: 16px 0px; color: rgb(15, 17, 21); font-family: quote-cjk-patch, Inter, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="">Looking ahead, the IMO's assessment is unlikely to change until there is independent verification of the mine threat and a cessation of attacks. Dominguez did not indicate when the organisation might revise its guidance, and the diplomatic efforts to reopen the strait—including Iran's two-day proposal—have not produced a durable agreement. For India, the practical implication is that the Hormuz corridor remains a high-risk route, and the procurement shifts that Indian refiners have undertaken, from delivered-basis crude to diversified supply, remain justified by the security environment that the IMO has described.</span></p>