UN Maritime Group to Rescue 11,000 Sailors Stranded in Middle East

French Commandant Thomas Scalabre points toward the positions of ships on the Strait of Hormuz on a screen at the Maritime Information and Cooperation and Awareness Center in Brest, France, on April 27, 2026. Fred Tanneau/AFP via Getty ImagesThe United Nations’ International Maritime Organization announced on Tuesday that it would start the evacuation of more than 11,000 sailors who were stranded in the Middle East this year due to the war between the United States and Iran.“This large-scale operation will be carried out in close cooperation with Iran, Oman, all other coastal States in the region, the United States, and the maritime industry,” the group’s secretary-general, Arsenio Dominguez, said in a statement.