IMO Warns of Mounting Human Toll as Attacks on Commercial Shipping Continue
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is calling for stronger protections for merchant ships and their crews as continued attacks in the Middle East, Red Sea and Black Sea put seafarers...
A sailor observes the oil tanker HELGA, which is moored at one of Iraq's southern offshore oil terminals near Basra, as it prepares to load crude oil, April 24, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is calling for stronger protections for merchant ships and their crews as continued attacks in the Middle East, Red Sea and Black Sea put seafarers at risk and threaten vital shipping routes.
The warning follows the IMO Council’s 138th session in London last week, where members addressed a growing list of maritime security threats, including the war involving Iran, Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and Russian strikes on shipping and port infrastructure in Ukraine.
According to the IMO’s latest figures, at least 130 incidents involving commercial vessels have been confirmed in the Middle East since the conflict began, with 25 seafarers now reported killed.
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