Seafarers’ advocates welcome US-Iran deal after months-long limbo in Gulf
Key takeaways
- Some 20,000 crew members have been stranded for months amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
- United States President Donald Trump said the strait will reopen on Friday when Iran will lift its “toll booth” system and the US will end its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
- International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Secretary-General Thomas Kazakos said the announcement came as a relief to maritime workers who have been “caught in the middle of this war”.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Some 20,000 crew members have been stranded for months amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Vessels sail off Suru Beach in Bandar Abbas, Iran [File: Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA via AFP]By Erin Hale Published On 15 Jun 202615 Jun 2026Seafarers’ advocates have cautiously welcomed the tentative deal to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, expressing hope that some 20,000 stranded crew members will soon be able to return home.
United States President Donald Trump said the strait will reopen on Friday when Iran will lift its “toll booth” system and the US will end its naval blockade of Iranian ports.