UN evacuates 11,000 sailors stranded in Strait of
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- IMO has begun evacuating 11,000+ stranded sailors from the Strait of Hormuz in close cooperation with Iran, Oman, other regional coastal states, the US, and the maritime industry, following a US-Iran memorandum of understanding to end the war.
- Kpler shipping intelligence reported at least 36 commercial vessels transited the strait on Monday, a record since the war started on February 28.
- Oman's Defence Ministry said the evacuation will be phased, citing "elevated risk of collision" requiring "gradual and controlled evacuation of vessel traffic."
- Denmark announced it will join the international maritime mission set up by France and Britain to help reopen the waterway.
- Marco Rubio, arriving in the UAE on Tuesday, said Iran would not be allowed to charge tolls in any final deal, calling the strait "an international waterway" where "no country is allowed to charge tolls or fees."
- Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Tehran's top negotiator, insisted the Strait of Hormuz "will never return" to its pre-war status quo — a direct contradiction of Rubio's no-tolls position.
Why it matters: The 11,000 stranded sailors represent a massive humanitarian and economic bottleneck that phased evacuation will take weeks to clear, even as record traffic (36 vessels Monday) signals shipping is restarting. The harder fight runs underneath: Rubio has flatly ruled out tolls while Iran's chief negotiator insists pre-war Hormuz is dead — setting up a direct collision in whatever final deal the two sides are now negotiating.
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