Capture of ships by US, Iran violates international law, shipping body says

International Chamber of Shipping official tells Al Jazeera the US and Iran should immediately release crews of captured vessels.A prominent shipping organisation has condemned the United States and Iran’s tit-for-tat capture of commercial ships and is calling for the immediate release of their crews.In an interview with Al Jazeera, John Stawpert, marine director of the International Chamber of Shipping, said seafarers must be allowed to go about their business “freely and without persecution”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Iran-Iraq Tanker War redux? Why the Strait of Hormuz crisis is differentlist 2 of 4How long can Iran survive the US’s Hormuz blockade?list 3 of 4US sending envoys to Pakistan, raising hopes of talks with Iran’s Araghchilist 4 of 4Oil rises above $106 per barrel as US, Iran deadlocked in Strait of Hormuzend of listStawpert, whose organisation is the top trade association for merchant shipowners and operators worldwide, called the capture of the vessels an affront to freedom of navigation as enshrined in international law.“All these people are doing is transporting trade. And really, we can’t have a situation where ships are being seized, ultimately for political ends, to prove a political point,” said Stawpert, whose organisation represents about 80 percent of the world’s merchant fleet.“These are innocent farers and they should be allowed to go about their jobs without fear of, essentially, imprisonment.”Stawpert said Iran’s stated wish to charge tolls in the Strait of Hormuz had no basis in international law and would set a dangerous precedent.“If you can do it in the Strait of Hormuz, why can’t you do it in the Strait of Gibraltar, say, or the Straits of Malacca?” he asked.Stawpert also said the US President Donald Trump’s naval blockade of Iranian ports had heaped further uncertainty on shipping companies already reeling from Iran’s effective closure of the strait.“We don’t know what conditions are in place. We don’t know what the targeting criteria of Iran are really,” Stawpert said. “And so we then have another state coming in, effectively doing the same thing through the blockade of the straits”.The Epaminondas captured by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, April 24, 2026 [Meysam Mirzadeh/Tasnim/WANA via Reuters]The US and Iranian militaries have each announced the capture of two commercial vessels over the past week as Washington and Tehran continue to face off in the strait and in waters beyond the Gulf.