International Maritime Organization

IMO Council Condemns Hormuz Attacks, Calls for Safe-Passage Framework

The IMO Council, during its extraordinary session on March 18–19, 2026, in London, strongly condemned threats and attacks against vessels and the purported closure of the Strait of Hormuz, referencing UN Security Council Resolution 2817 (2026). The Council called for a coordinated international approach to security, urged all attacks on ships affecting civilian seafarers to cease immediately, and directed Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez to initiate negotiations for a humanitarian safe-passage framework to evacuate vessels and seafarers trapped in the Gulf region.

Four States Ratify 2010 HNS Convention, Advancing Entry Into Force

Belgium, Germany, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Sweden deposited their instruments of ratification to the 2010 HNS Convention on 14 April 2026, bringing the total to 12 Contracting States — meeting the number-of-States criterion for entry into force. The 2010 HNS Convention establishes a liability and compensation regime for damage caused by hazardous and noxious substances carried by sea, with total compensation capped at 250 million SDR (approximately USD $360 million) per event. Shipowners are held strictly liable, must maintain State-certified insurance, and an HNS Fund will pay compensation once shipowner liability is exhausted, financed by post-incident contributions from cargo receivers. The earliest possible entry-into-force date is 30 November 2027, pending confirmation after 31 May 2026 that the 40-million-tonne cargo threshold has been met.

IMO Approves New Guidelines on Ship Registration

The IMO Legal Committee has approved the first international guidelines to prevent maritime fraud and misuse of flags, addressing a key regulatory gap given the absence of any binding international framework for ship registration. The Committee noted that 529 ships falsely flew a country's flag in the past year and that nearly 40 Member States had experienced fraudulent use of their flags by criminal groups. The guidelines provide practical measures for flag State registries to strengthen verification, ensure accurate ownership records, and improve oversight of registration procedures.