Will take 'few weeks' to evacuate all Gulf sailors: UN maritime chief

Published June 24, 2026 Updated June 24, 2026 08:56pm

The evacuation of more than 11,000 sailors stranded in the Gulf owing to the US-Iran war will take “a few weeks”, the head of the International Maritime Organisation tells AFP.

“It will take us a few weeks before we can actually complete the evacuation” of about 600 ships stuck since the start of the conflict, IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez says in an interview.