Seafarers remain stranded in Gulf as Hormuz attacks continue

Ship traffic falls to a fraction of prewar levels

The Minoan Pioneer, a Greek-owned and Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, sent a distress signal late Monday from about 20 nautical miles north of Oman’s coast. The unknown projectile caused a blackout in the engine room and a fire in the accommodation area, according to The Guardian.

The crew fought the fire and called nearby vessels for assistance. When the crew disembarked Tuesday morning, they discovered that the third engineer was missing. He had not been found days later.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre is investigating but has not officially confirmed where the projectile came from. Analysts at maritime intelligence company Windward said prior kinetic attacks at the same location had been Iranian in origin, while Iran denies involvement.

Two other vessels in the region — a large oil tanker and a medium-sized oil tanker — reported near-misses during the preceding 24 hours.

The incidents have focused attention on crews who entered the Gulf in February expecting ordinary voyages and have remained there as the U.S.-led war on Iran extended into its sixth month. Seventeen seafarers have died since hostilities began, the majority following Iranian strikes.

The International Maritime Organization says 6,000 seafarers on 500 vessels remain in the Gulf. The ships include different types of vessels. Several dozen oil and gas tankers used a brief opening created by a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, but some did not pass through the channel before that opportunity ended.

A ceasefire announced in April and a peace deal signed in June both broke down shortly after they were announced. Oman has mediated talks, but a proposed arrangement would give Iran control over traffic entering the Gulf, according to the report. That proposal would depart from the freedom of navigation for vessels before the conflict and would not be popular with shipowners or the wider industry.

The IMO’s secretary-general, Arsenio Dominguez, said seafarers are trained to work at sea rather than fight and that their vessels are not equipped to defend against missiles and drones.

Savio Ramos, general secretary of the Maritime Union of India, said crews waiting to leave describe their situation as being like “prison.” The union represents merchant navy officers. Ramos said the uncertainty surrounding the conflict was causing stress among crew members.

“It is like putting somebody in prison and not giving them freedom to move,” Ramos said. “You don’t know where you’re going, you don’t what you’re doing. It gets to you after some time.”

At least vessels operated by responsible owners are receiving regular deliveries of fresh water, food and other supplies from shore by small boats, according to the report. The crews nevertheless have few ways to leave the region. Ramos said some union members had returned home when other senior officers agreed to enter the region and replace them.

Ships continue to pass through the strait, but at sharply reduced levels. Lloyd’s List analysts counted 52 non-Iranian-linked vessels from 27 July to 2 August; 60% exited the channel and 40% entered. Another 32 Iranian-linked vessels passed through during the same week.

The combined total of 84 vessels represented just over 10% of the average 700 weekly ship movements before the conflict. Lloyd’s List said 70 large oil and gas tankers owned by mainstream companies not subject to sanctions had remained in the Gulf since February. Another 65 tankers entered after the memorandum of understanding was announced but could not leave.

The nationalities of the stranded seafarers are not clear. The largest groups are likely to be Indian and Filipino, according to the report. India has 312,000 seafarers working in the industry, while the Philippines has 460,000, according to the latest global seafarer report from the Baltic and International Maritime Council and the International Chamber of Shipping.

The conflict has also spread to the Red Sea and Iraq. Russia and Ukraine have attacked each other’s vessels in the Black Sea, where 24 seafarers have been killed since the start of July. Lloyd’s List analysts described July as “one of the deadliest months ever for commercial seafarers.”

Shipping analysts and industry participants are concerned that prolonged danger could discourage seafarers from traveling to high-risk regions or from going to sea. Dominguez said that without seafarers, “90% of goods that are transported by ships will not be able to reach their final destinations and all of us are going to be impacted.”

MSI previously reported on the deaths of seafarers in attacks involving commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The latest report describes a missing engineer and the continuing confinement of merchant crews, while the engineer’s fate remains unresolved (Hormuz attacks kill 3 seafarers as Iran uses cruise missiles).