Anish arrived days before the United States launched “Operation Epic Fury” against Iran on February 28. Since then, he and thousands of other crew members have remained stuck amid attacks, military patrols and suspended commercial movement in one of the world’s busiest shipping corridors.
“We’ve faced the whole situation here, the war, the missiles,” Anish told Al Jazeera. “Our minds are terribly distracted.”
Anish, who spoke under a pseudonym, said some Indian seafarers managed to return home by crossing Iran’s land border with Armenia. Others stayed behind because they had not received salaries from recruitment agents and shipping companies.
“Some are stuck because of their Indian agents; they are not getting their salaries,” he said. “Some are stuck because the Iranian agents say we will not give you the dollars to reach Armenia.”
He said he has been surviving on potatoes, onions, tomatoes and flatbread, while food and water supplies on some vessels are running low. Anish also said he has not been paid by his Dubai-based agent for nine months.
“My contract finish date is the 20th of May,” he said. “Maybe the company will provide my salary after that. I don’t know.”
1,500 ships, 20,000 crew caught in Gulf crisis
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) estimates that around 20,000 seafarers and nearly 1,500 ships are currently stranded in the Gulf because of the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the crews were trapped in a geopolitical conflict beyond their control.
“Right now, we have approximately 20,000 crewmen and around 1,500 ships trapped,” Dominguez said at the Maritime Convention of the Americas in Panama.
The Strait of Hormuz previously carried about one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies and a significant share of the world’s seaborne fertiliser trade. Shipping traffic has remained disrupted despite a ceasefire announced between Washington and Tehran on April 7.
Fear grows as attacks, detentions continue
The IMO estimates that at least 10 seafarers have been killed in attacks on vessels since the conflict began. Iran’s merchant marine union said at least 44 Iranian seafarers, dockworkers and fishermen had been killed as of April 1.
Commercial crews in the region also face the risk of detention. Last month, Iranian forces detained two foreign-flagged cargo ships and their crews, while the US Navy seized three Iran-linked commercial vessels in the Gulf and Indian Ocean.
Stephen Cotton said the situation had created an “enhanced state of fear” among seafarers.
“Since the beginning of the year, we’ve got military forces boarding ships like it’s the 17th century, and that’s terrifying,” Cotton said.
Crews stuck at sea even after contracts end
Crew rotation has become another major concern. Under the Maritime Labour Convention, seafarers cannot be required to remain onboard for more than 12 months, but blocked routes and disrupted transport have made repatriation difficult.
John Bradford said many seafarers had no option but to remain onboard after their scheduled rotations ended.
“This keeps them from their families and creates all sorts of social ripple effects even as they continue in a situation that is increasingly stressful,” Bradford said.
Steven Jones said crews had reported seeing drones and missiles flying at low altitude. “One told us: ‘What scares me the most is the thought of an intercepted drone or missile falling on us,’” Jones said.
The IMO said it is preparing an evacuation framework for stranded vessels, though shipping experts warned that even if the strait reopens, trade flows could take weeks or months to normalise because of damaged infrastructure, export backlogs and sea mines in the waterway.
(With input from agencies)
