After months of scrambling for solutions, a Canadian transportation firm has a tentative plan to get two of its freighter ships out of the Persian Gulf where a battle rages over a key transit route. Quebec-based Desgagnés’ two freighter ships, the Miena Desgagnés and the Rosaire A. Desgagnés, are the only known Canadian commercial vessels that have been stranded in the Gulf after the U.S. and Iran first launched attacks on each other in February, over the Strait of Hormuz. The ships will most likely take a route along the Oman coastline, the firm’s vice-president Pascal Larose told CTV Your Morning on Friday. “It’s the U.S.-recommended route,” he said. “We know there’s no mine. We know that some ships have tried successfully to use that route.” Now it’s a matter of choosing the “right time,” he added. “We’re asking this question ourselves every day.” In a best-case scenario, the ships would sail after Iran and the U.S. reach a peace agreement, he said. Another would be if Iran promised not to attack any ship. “We’re not there to put any member at risk or the ship at risk,” he said. Even though the Strait of Hormnuz is “physically open,” Larose said they “decided it’s not a good time to take that (route).” The fighting has cost the firm millions to have the ships stuck in the Gulf, he added, as they were set to conduct operations in the Arctic. “The backup plan is to charter two new ships,” he said. “Obviously, that’s a huge cost.” The stuck ships have continued to do “a little bit of business” in the Gulf, he added. However, for the first three months of being stranded, the crew didn’t have much to do beyond maintenance. Having been on the ship since March, crew members have grown “tired of the situation” prompting the company to plan a change of crew, he said. “The challenge was more to find people willing to go in that situation.” With files from The Canadian Press
