The head of the organization responsible for the safety and security of global maritime transport has said that no country has the legal right to block the Strait of Hormuz, the BBC reported, Gazeta Express reports.
Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), said that while the US blockade "appears to be very specific to access to Iranian ports", legally there was no basis for any country to block the waterway.
"In accordance with international law, countries do not have the right to block an international strait that is used for international navigation," he told reporters at a briefing at IMO headquarters in London this afternoon.
Mr. Dominguez also said that although very few ships were passing through the Strait before the blockade, the latest “blockade” by the US “offers no solution to the crisis we have.”
"20,000 seafarers cannot transit. The global economy continues to be affected and until the root causes are addressed, we all still suffer from it," he said.
“Additional blockade does not help find a solution to the conflict.” He added: “I would ask everyone to play by the rules.”
t7 live
