UN says IMO confirms 25 seafarer deaths since Iran war began

As many as 25 seafarers have been killed in 134 confirmed maritime incidents across the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Middle East since the US and Israeli started war on Iran in February, according to Khalid Khiari, UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific. Briefing the UN Security Council on Friday, Khiari cited figures from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) covering incidents recorded up to November 11. He said October saw the highest monthly number of incidents involving commercial shipping since February, warning that continued disruption was driving up energy, transport and insurance costs and threatening global food security. “This situation cannot be allowed to become the new normal,” Khiari said, calling for an immediate end to attacks on civilian vessels and the restoration of safe maritime navigation. Bahrain’s representative told the meeting that about 1,600 vessels had been affected by disruptions in the waterway, leaving more than 23,000 seafarers stranded aboard their ships. Bhargavi Suresh and her two sons sit in front of the photograph of her dead husband, Patnala Suresh, at their home in Visakhapatnam, India, on 23 June 2026 (Aatif Ammad/MEE)