IMO Logs 130+ Attacks in Strait of Hormuz, Demands Enforcement

The International Maritime Organization has verified more than 130 attacks on internationally trading commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz since 28 February 2026, with at least 25 seafarers killed and others still missing or injured.

That casualty count, confirmed by the UN body itself, is the headline figure behind an unusual public intervention by IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, who has now formally urged Member States to take stronger action to enforce maritime safety and security regulations in and around the chokepoint.

Dominguez said the organisation's technical and operational regulations exist to protect seafarers, ships and the marine environment, and "must be respected and enforced effectively."

What is the IMO actually asking for?

The demand lands squarely on flag States, port States and relevant coastal States. Dominguez called on all three to fulfil their responsibilities under IMO conventions, act against violations within their jurisdictions, and do so in accordance with international law.

The concerns he set out go beyond the attacks themselves:

• Ships transiting the Strait without complying with basic requirements under international treaties, including the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS)
• Substandard vessels operating in the area
• Ships concealing their IMO identification numbers
• Vessels sailing under fraudulent registration or false flags
• Other unsafe practices

For carriers and forwarders still routing Gulf cargo, the message carries commercial weight. A regulator accusing operators of flag manipulation and SOLAS non-compliance signals elevated detention, inspection and insurance scrutiny on Hormuz-linked tonnage — precisely the segment where crew risk is already priced in after 130 verified attacks.

What did Dominguez say about the operators themselves?

He didn't stop with governments. The Secretary-General directly urged shipowners and operators to avoid commercial activities in the Strait that expose seafarers to unacceptable risks.

That puts the IMO on record telling the industry that some Hormuz transits are no longer defensible as ordinary business. Owners face a sharper choice between war-risk premiums and diverted routings on one side, and crew-safety liability on the other.

Dominguez also widened the frame beyond shipping, saying governments must address the root causes of a conflict that has increased the cost of living for millions of people worldwide — a nod to the inflationary footprint a choked Hormuz leaves on energy and freight markets far outside the Gulf.

Is there a political track?

Yes, and it runs through the IMO Council. Following recent Council decisions, Dominguez urged Member States to pursue political solutions that restore a single, safe and internationally recognised framework for navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, while protecting the rights and freedoms of navigation.

The phrase "single, internationally recognised framework" matters. It implies the current picture is fragmented — multiple de facto rules of passage in one of the world's most concentrated tanker and container corridors.

What comes next for shippers?

No enforcement deadline, sanctions list or new convention text accompanied the statement. What shippers and carriers have instead is a regulator on record: 130-plus verified attacks, 25-plus dead seafarers, systemic SOLAS violations, and false-flag operations all now formally documented with the IMO's stamp.

Watch for port State inspections of Hormuz-exposed tonnage to tighten, and for flag registries named in fraudulent registration cases to come under Council-level pressure as the political track develops.