Full Breakdown
Stranded at Sea: Over 20,000 Seafarers Trapped by the Hormuz Conflict
5/9/2026, 6:50:43 AM
Stranded Seafarers in the Hormuz Crisis
Since the war in Iran began earlier this year, over 20,000 seafarers have been confined on about 1,500 vessels that cannot transit the Strait of Hormuz. Unable to dock in Gulf ports, crews have spent over two months on board without pay, visas or supplies.
Context: War and Closure of the Strait
The conflict has restricted traffic through the Hormuz waterway, a chokepoint handling roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments. Rerouted routes left many vessels in the Persian Gulf immobilized, exposing crews to missile and drone attacks.
Who Is Affected: Global-South Crews and Flag-of-Convenience Ships
Crews are mainly from India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Egypt and Georgia. Their vessels fly Liberian or Panamanian flags, a “flag-of-convenience” regime with limited oversight and no clear protecting state.
Scale of the Humanitarian Issue
UN International Maritime Organization estimates at least 10-12 seafarers have died; ITF has received over 2,000 crew contacts, with about 200 Indian nationals aboard, and unpaid-wage cases span five to eleven months.
Voices from the Deck
Seafarer Tithi Chiranjeevi reported loss of internet, cutting contact with families, and food and water shortages. ITF’s Mohamed Arrachedi said crews are “eating once a day” and rationing water to two-hour windows.
Institutional Responses
The ITF has urged flag states and ship owners to arrange repatriation and supplies. Forward Seamen’s Union of India’s General Secretary Manoj Yadav said the union is coordinating overland evacuations, with crews traveling up to 1,800 km to Mumbai airports.
Gaps in Protection and Industry Critique
Critics note flag-of-convenience system provides no legal recourse for abandoned crews and leaves safety responsibility undefined. Union officials call unpaid wages and lack of a protection protocol “absolutely not acceptable.”
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Sources differ on death toll—10 versus 12—and on number of repatriated seafarers, with only “a few hundred” confirmed. Data on crew conditions remain limited.
Verbatim Quotes
- “TITHI CHIRANJEEVI: [translated] We did not have internet, and there was no way to communicate with our families back home.” — Tithi Chiranjeevi, Seafarer (India)
- “The seafarers, men and women, have not provoked this war, are not part of it and cannot stop it.” — Mohamed Arrachedi, ITF
- “Even some of them have started rationing the water, so two hours in the morning, two hours in the afternoon.” — Mohamed Arrachedi, ITF
- “We have handled a few cases where the seafarers have traveled from Khorramshahr, Bandar Abbas to Bushehr, Bushehr to Armenia.” — Manoj Yadav, Forward Seamen’s Union of India
Outlook: Repatriation and Ongoing Monitoring
ITF says it will document crew requests and urge flag states to adopt protocols and repatriation measures. Coordination is needed to reduce vulnerability of stranded seafarers.
