NEW DELHI (AP) 鈥� For about eight weeks, Indian Capt. Rahul Dhar and his crew have been stranded on their tanker in the Persian Gulf, sometimes watching drones and missiles explode as the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively shut while the dragged on.
The crew鈥檚 morale, he said, is holding as they carry on with their routines, but the strain is beginning to show.
A shaky between the U.S. and Iran has brought 鈥渁 careful sense of hope鈥� for the crew, but there is still no clear end to the war. 鈥淒ay to day, we try to keep things normal with open conversations and small team activities that help lift everyone鈥檚 spirits.鈥�
The crew sighted drones and missile interceptions several times, both near the ship and along the horizon during their watches. 鈥淭hose moments were difficult and created real tension for the crew,鈥� Dhar told The Associated Press.
鈥淣one of us expected the warlike situation,鈥� he said, noting that reliable internet has helped them stay in touch with families. 鈥淭hose calls and messages really keep us grounded and give us strength.鈥�
About 20,000 seafarers are stranded in the Gulf
on hundreds of vessels, including oil and gas tankers and cargo ships, have been stuck in the Gulf, unable to cross the . Normally about a fifth of the world鈥檚 oil and liquefied natural gas transits the waterway.
Roughly 80 vessels passed through the strait in the week of April 13-19, according to the maritime data firm Lloyd鈥檚 List Intelligence, compared to approximately 130 or more transits per day before the war. Dozens of ships have come under attack since the war started, and the U.N. says at least 10 seafarers were killed.
Even as U.S. President Donald Trump last week extended the ceasefire indefinitely, the U.S. kept the blockade of Iranian ports. In response, Iran in the strait and .
鈥淪eafarers are the backbone of global trade, yet we are often the most affected by regional geopolitical conflicts,鈥� said Capt. ArunKumar Rajendran, who also has been stranded with his tanker crew for around eight weeks.
Some ‘watched blasts from decks’
Manoj Kumar Yadav of the Forward Seamen鈥檚 Union of India said thousands of Indian sailors were aboard the stranded vessels, enduring days of fear and isolation as ships lay anchored near Iranian ports such as Bandar Abbas and Khorramshahr. Explosions sometimes occurred just a few hundred meters (yards) away.
鈥淭hey were watching blasts from their decks,鈥� he said, adding that his union has been fielding daily distress calls from crews and their families. 鈥淢any of them were on board a ship for the first time, and you can imagine what mental state they have gone through.鈥�
India, one of the world鈥檚 largest suppliers of maritime labor, has more than 20,000 nationals working on foreign-flagged ships in the region, many of them beyond the reach of coordinated evacuation efforts. India鈥檚 shipping ministry said last week that at least 2,680 sailors had been evacuated since the conflict began.
Yadav said many sailors reported acute shortages of food and drinking water, with some vessels forced to ration supplies. Communication with families in India was sporadic due to internet disruptions and signal jamming. When contact was possible, sailors often paid high roaming charges for just a few minutes of conversation, he said.
Sailors’ families are growing increasingly anxious, demanding the safe return of their loved ones.
Mohamed Arrachedi, the International Transport Workers鈥� Federation’s network coordinator for the Middle East, said earlier this month it had received hundreds of requests for assistance, including for food, from seafarers.
Crew faces drones and uncertainty
Stranded off Oman for more than a month, Reza Muhammad Saleh, an Indonesian chief officer aboard a Greek-owned cargo ship, said a drone exploded near the port shortly after they arrived March 3. At least two more incidents followed, forcing repeated evacuations of the crew to bunkers, he said. No one was harmed.
鈥淭he biggest problem is the uncertainty. We don鈥檛 know when Hormuz will be open again,” Saleh told the AP.
The vessel with 24 crew members from Indonesia, Arab countries, India and Ethiopia typically transports iron ore across Gulf states, transiting Hormuz once or twice a month. It now requires written clearance from Iran. 鈥淣o company wants to take the risk without it,鈥� he said.
Though experienced in conflict zones, the crew has been rattled by missile strikes and GPS disruptions that forced it to use manual navigation, he said.
鈥淪ometimes we think it鈥檚 safe, then suddenly it鈥檚 not. Today we鈥檙e safe. Tomorrow, nobody knows,” he said.
Crew changes are difficult
Fleet Management Limited usually communicates multiple times a day with dozens of stranded ships that are staffed by more than 400 seafarers, its CEO Capt. Rajalingam Subramaniam said.
Stock checks are regularly maintained for food supply, and pickups have been arranged to ensure availability by moving vessels to the nearest points where they can pick up fresh and dry provisions, he said.
Some crew changes were still happening, but in limited numbers. 鈥淲ho wants to go on the ship?鈥� Subramaniam said. 鈥淭he inbound crew has the right to refuse and we respect (that).鈥�
Most of the stranded mariners have been in the Gulf since the war began. 鈥�(For) mariners who did not sign up to be in warlike area, they also (need) to be respected so that they do not become the unintended collateral,鈥� he said.
Among the vessels attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz during the ceasefire, several were fired upon and others turned back. Vessels managed by Fleet Management did not attempt to cross, Subramaniam said.
Germany鈥檚 largest shipping company, Hapag-Lloyd, has had around 150 sailors stranded near the strait, on six vessels. 鈥淭hese are difficult days and weeks,鈥� Hapag Lloyd spokesman Nils Haupt told the AP earlier this month. He said Hapag-Lloyd was in contact with the captains and crews at least once a day.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been able to rotate some of them (crew) in the meantime, but you can easily imagine that after such a long time, monotony naturally sets in on board,鈥� he said.
Shortages of global seafarers to worsen
The International Maritime Organization, the U.N.’s shipping agency, and others have called for a safe corridor for commercial vessels in the strait. Most ships are still unable to pass through, even though Iran had said the strait was open to vessels it perceived as non-hostile and to collect tolls for passage.
Iran was said to have placed in the waterway, and Trump said last week that the U.S. was and would 鈥渟hoot and kill鈥� boats laying mines in the area. Under heightened risks of mines and attacks on ships, 鈥渢here is no safe transit anywhere in the Strait of Hormuz,鈥� said IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez.
Multiple crises in recent years have left many seafarers stranded at sea. That includes the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine and attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea. Subramaniam said he worries that even after the Iran war ends, fewer people will be willing to sign up at a time when there is already a shortage of skilled seafarers.
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Chan reported from Hong Kong. Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Associated Press journalists Chonchui Ngashangva in New Delhi, Kerstin Sopke in Berlin and John Leicester in Paris contributed to this report.
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