THE new secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Arsenio Dominguez, has called for a "multi-faceted" solution to the ongoing Red Sea shipping crisis.

Assuming the top post at the London United Nations body at the start of this month, Mr Dominguez has been thrust into an international shipping crisis on the scale of the pandemic straight away.

Mr Dominguez told Singapore's Splash 247 that the volatile situation in the Red Sea where Houthis from Yemen have attacked around 40 merchant ships in recent months needs to be resolved swiftly.

"Shipping needs to trade. The freedom of navigation is paramount," he said, adding: "The solution has to be multi-faceted: enhanced ship security; a cessation of hostile activity which targets innocent seafarers; and regional and international efforts to reach a peaceful resolution to the problem."

Mr Dominguez said he is actively engaging with member states, industry stakeholders and the UN Security Council to work out a way to resolve the maritime emergency unfolding in the Middle East.

Kuba Szymanski, the secretary-general of InterManager, a global shipmanagement association, endorsed his IMO counterpart's assertion that merchant ships should not be victims of geopolitical unrest and must be allowed to trade freely and safely.

"The safety of seafarers is paramount. We are finding that proactive shipowners are rerouting their ships to avoid the Red Sea area while risk to human life exists. Shipmanagers are in discussions with their principals to advocate for this option too," Mr Szymanski told Splash.

Bjorn Hojgaard, who heads up Anglo-Eastern, the world's largest shipmanager, said he saw little chance of ships being able to receive proper protection when transiting the Red Sea anytime soon.

"My guess is this will persist for some time, and Red Sea/Suez Canal traffic will dry up. Another new normal," Mr Hojgaard said.

John Stawpert, senior manager for environment and trade at the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), a leading global shipowning organisation, said the US-led Operation Guardian Prosperity naval operation in and around the Red Sea has successfully interrupted attacks, providing much needed security and reassurance to shipping.

"Cooperation between Operation Prosperity Guardian and other non-coalition forces deployed to the region remains strong, ensuring effective defence for merchant shipping across the area of the attacks, and the anticipated European operation in the region will increase this protection," Mr Stawpert said.

Salvatore Mercogliano, an associate professor of history at Campbell University, agreed with the ICS viewpoint, telling Splash the best protection for shipping in the Red Sea would be a continuation of the current naval and military deployments.

Latest results from the Seafarers Happiness Index reflect how growing security threats are impacting life at sea.

"It is clear that the escalating risks to seafarer safety from piracy, terrorism and war risks are having an impact on crew welfare. It is also adding to the workload burden on seafarers, due to the ramping up of security duties in higher risk waters," the survey highlighted, going on to raise the importance of war-like operations area payments.