Euronews spoke to a crew member of a cargo vessel anchored off Pakistan for weeks and an Iranian maritime manager about dangers in the vital waterway — where traffic has fallen 90% since the war began and at least 95 seafarers in commercial roles have died.
The Al Ruwais, a 314-metre liquefied natural gas carrier flying a Bahamian flag, has been sitting adrift off the coast of Pakistan for weeks.
Fearing for its safety, its 34-member crew does not want to test the waters and attempt to cross the Strait of Hormuz, despite demands from the ship’s owners.
“What strikes me as strange is that this company is willing to risk the ship just to pass through the Strait of Hormuz,” an electrician aboard the UAE-owned vessel told Euronews.
“If it were up to the company, we’d go through, but for that to happen, the entire crew would have to agree. And they don’t. I am waiting to leave by boat for Pakistan, where I will board another vessel.”
Under maritime regulations, the right to refuse transit into a designated warlike area is individual, meaning that one sailor objecting is enough to stop a vessel from moving into a danger zone.
On ships whose crews do agree to cross, companies have offered captains up to $100,000 (€89,000) per month plus $50,000 (€44,500) risk bonuses, while ordinary crew wages have risen four to six times.
“On other ships, they give as much as $10,000 (€8,900), but not everyone gets the same amount, and it depends a lot on the position and base salary,” the sailor aboard Al Ruwais told Euronews.
“It’s only fair that everyone gets the same amount, otherwise, it would mean that the captain’s life is worth more than that of the deckhand.”
No passage is safe, sailors say
A vital waterway for the world‘s energy trade, the Straight of Hormuz has been under two concurrent naval blockades since the outbreak of the Iran war following US-Israeli strikes in late February.
The southern corridor near Oman is patrolled by US forces, while the northern route passes through Iranian-controlled waters. The IRGC Navy has stated that vessels transiting routes it considers unauthorised face what it described as “punitive action”.
Traffic through the strait has collapsed as a result. More than 125 vessels passed daily before the war. That figure has fallen to fewer than 10 to 12, a drop of more than 90%, according to ship-tracking firm Kpler.
Drone attacks, sea mines and strikes from unknown projectiles have driven the decline, with UK Maritime Trade Operations recording multiple incidents involving fires, sinkings and power failures aboard tankers and LNG carriers.
Ships that do attempt the crossing have taken to turning off satellite AIS transponders, extinguishing running lights at night and shutting down radio equipment to avoid detection.
The dangers are somewhat different for Iranian sailors. Hamed, a 50-year-old former captain who now runs a maritime management company in Iran, told Euronews that since March of last year the war has resulted in the deaths of some 95 seafarers in commercial, fishing, passenger, tugboat and offshore platform support roles.
Military vessels have suffered heavy damage and ships undergoing repairs in Bandar Abbas have been struck, he said, although precise casualty figures have not been officially released.
“Nearly 60% of our ships are sanctioned and forbidden from calling at foreign ports such as India, Pakistan, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, and Iraq,” Hamed said. “Even Pakistan’s maritime borders, where Iranian vessels used to travel, have now been closed to us.”
Around 40% of southern Iranian seafarers have refused sea assignments, he said, with many shifting to the Caspian Sea to handle increased grain imports from the north. Wages in the south have been raised by 30 to 100%.
Sailors now earn between 50 and 80 million tomans (€165 to €265) per month, and captains between $1,200 and $4,000 (€1,100 to €3,700).
US forces have boarded Iranian commercial vessels roughly 15 times since the war began, Hamed said, arriving by helicopter and speedboat to inspect cargo for explosives, with no guarantees of their safety.
“The US has provided no safe-passage guarantees for Iranian commercial ships,” Hamed said. “Every week we witness aerial or naval drone attacks on Iranian vessels.”
He estimated that roughly 35,000 Iranian seafarers across approximately 2,000 vessels continue operating in southern waters to deliver wheat, corn and medicine to ordinary Iranians.
If the situation deteriorates further, he warned, authorities could be forced to declare a complete shutdown and evacuate coastal facilities.
Source: www.euronews.com
