NEW YORK CITY: “Open the strait. Let ships pass. No tolls. No discrimination. Let trade resume. Let the global economy breathe.”
This was the call from the UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, on Monday as he warned that escalating disruption in the Strait of Hormuz is causing a growing global economic and humanitarian shock.
He issued a direct appeal to all parties for the immediate restoration of safe passage for shipping through the strait, calling for open travel with no restrictions. Maritime traffic must be allowed to flow freely in line with international law, he said, warning that any obstruction of the waterway risks severe global consequences for energy, food security and trade.
An escalating maritime security crisis centered on the Strait of Hormuz is rippling across the global economy, raising fears of widespread shortages of goods and humanitarian fallout, Guterres warned.
Speaking during a high-level Security Council debate on maritime security, Guterres said disruptions since early March to shipping in the strait, a vital choke point for maritime traffic, have sent shock waves through energy markets, food supply chains and global trade.
“The economic shock has been immediate — and everyone is paying the price,” he added, highlighting in particular volatile energy prices, soaring transport and insurance costs, and what he described as the most severe disruption to supply chains since the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
“These pressures are cascading into empty fuel tanks, empty shelves and empty plates,” Guterres said.
About one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical maritime passages, along with nearly one-third of internationally traded fertilizers.
Any sustained disruption, Guterres warned, threatens both economic stability and humanitarian conditions worldwide. Delays in shipping are already slowing the delivery of essential goods, including food and aid supplies.
The timing of the crisis is particularly critical as it coincides with key planting seasons in many parts of the world. Prolonged disruption could trigger a global food emergency, Guterres cautioned, pushing millions of people, especially in Africa and South Asia, deeper into hunger and poverty.
The heaviest burden, he noted, is falling on the most vulnerable nations, including those on the UN’s lists of least-developed countries and Small Island Developing States, which rely heavily on maritime imports.
Guterres also noted that more than 20,000 seafarers remain stranded on the water, while more than 2,000 commercial vessels were navigating increasingly dangerous and restricted waters.
“These men and women are not parties to any conflict,” he said. “They are civilian workers keeping the world supplied.”
He called for urgent support for an emergency evacuation framework developed by the International Maritime Organization to ensure the safety and protection of affected crews.
Guterres also issued a direct appeal to all parties involved in the crisis for the restoration of safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
“Open the strait. Let ships pass. No tolls. No discrimination,” he said. “Let trade resume. Let the global economy breathe.”
He stressed that navigational rights and freedoms must be upheld in accordance with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and relevant Security Council resolutions.
The crisis, Guterres warned, reflects a wider breakdown in international cooperation, with geopolitical tensions increasingly spilling into maritime domains.
“War and deepening divisions are shaking the collective security system,” he said. “Trust is eroding. International law is being violated — in plain sight.”
He called for a renewed commitment to dialogue, restraint and the peaceful resolution of disputes, emphasizing that challenges to maritime security require collective action.
“The ocean must be a zone of peace and cooperation, not confrontation or coercion,” Guterres said.
As global supply chains feel the strain and humanitarian risks mount, the Hormuz crisis has rapidly emerged as not only a regional flash point but a defining test of the ability of the international system to respond to shared threats.
