IMO Chief Demands Enforcement of Maritime Rules in Strait of Hormuz

The Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, Arsenio Dominguez, has publicly called on IMO Member States to enforce maritime safety and security regulations in and around the Strait of Hormuz, citing continued attacks against commercial ships and what he describes as "too many cases" of vessels transiting the chokepoint in breach of fundamental treaty provisions.

His statement puts a hard edge on a problem that carriers and forwarders have watched build for months: substandard tonnage, operational shortcuts and outright identity fraud moving through one of the world's most commercially sensitive waterways.

What did the Secretary-General actually say?

Dominguez anchored his appeal in the IMO's own rulebook. "IMO's technical and operational regulations are there to protect seafarers, ships and the marine environment. They must be respected and enforced effectively," he said. "There are too many cases of ships transiting the Strait without complying with fundamental provisions of treaties such as the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)."

That is a pointed formulation. SOLAS is the baseline safety treaty of global merchant shipping — fire protection, lifesaving equipment, structural standards. A Secretary-General saying outright that vessels are ignoring it in a specific waterway is not routine diplomatic language.

He did not publish a count of the offending transits, and no enforcement statistics accompanied the statement. What he did provide is a list of the practices behind the concern:

• Reports of substandard vessels operating in and around the Strait.
• Ships covering their IMO numbers — the unique seven-digit hull identifiers that make a vessel traceable.
• Ongoing transits by ships fraudulently registered or sailing under false flags.
• Other unsafe practices he did not itemize.

Who is being asked to act?

The burden, in Dominguez's framing, falls on states rather than on the IMO itself — a reflection of the organization's real powers, which run to standard-setting, not policing. "I call on all flag States, port States and relevant coastal States to exercise their responsibilities under IMO conventions and take measures to address violations, within their respective jurisdictions, and in accordance with international law," he said.

For carriers and operators, the message is blunter still. "I strongly urge shipowners and operators to refrain from commercial activities in the Strait that expose seafarers to unacceptable risks," Dominguez stated.

That sentence carries commercial weight. A UN-agency head telling owners to stay out of a trade lane — even in the language of urging rather than mandating — strengthens the hand of underwriters, charterers and unions pressing crews to refuse高风险 transits, and it gives corporate risk committees a citable authority when they argue for rerouting or suspension of service.

What comes next?

Dominguez widened the lens beyond compliance mechanics to the economics ordinary households feel. "It is imperative for Governments to tackle the root causes of this conflict, which has also increased the cost of living for millions of people worldwide," he said — an acknowledgment that insecurity in the Strait feeds through freight, insurance and energy costs to consumers far from the Gulf.

The statement also follows recent decisions of the IMO Council, which Dominguez invoked in urging Member States to pursue political solutions. The specific goal: restore "a single, safe and internationally recognized framework for navigation through the Strait of Hormuz that preserves the rights and freedoms of navigation."

The phrase "single framework" signals concern that the current environment is fragmented — different rules, different flags, different enforcement appetites — rather than governed by one coherent regime.

What the statement does not contain is any timeline, any named states accused of violations, or any specific enforcement measures the IMO expects flag or port authorities to take. The obligation now sits with governments around the Strait and beyond; whether port-state inspections tighten or fraudulent registrations face meaningful consequences will be the measure of whether this appeal changes behavior on the water.