Ship crews face strain as the Strait of Hormuz remains shut

For about eight weeks, Indian Captain Rahul Dhar and his crew have been stranded on their tanker in the Persian Gulf, witnessing drones and missiles explode as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed during the ongoing Iran conflict.

“Day to day, we try to keep things normal with open conversations and small team activities that help lift everyone’s spirits,” Dhar told The Associated Press. Although a shaky ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has brought “a careful sense of hope,” there is still no clear resolution in sight.

The crew has witnessed drone and missile interceptions multiple times, both near their vessel and along the horizon during watches. “Those moments were difficult and created real tension for the crew,” Dhar said. “None of us expected the warlike situation,” he added, noting that reliable internet access has been crucial for maintaining contact with families. “Those calls and messages really keep us grounded and give us strength.”

Approximately 20,000 seafarers on hundreds of vessels—including oil and gas tankers and cargo ships—remain trapped in the Gulf, unable to navigate through the Strait of Hormuz. This strategic waterway typically handles about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

Maritime activity has plummeted dramatically. According to data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence, only about 80 vessels traversed the strait between April 13-19, compared to the normal volume of roughly 130 or more daily transits before the conflict erupted. The situation has turned deadly, with dozens of ships coming under attack and at least 10 seafarers killed, according to UN reports.

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump extending the ceasefire indefinitely, the U.S. maintained its blockade of Iranian ports. Iran responded by firing on ships in the strait and seizing two vessels, further complicating the crisis.

“Seafarers are the backbone of global trade, yet we are often the most affected by regional geopolitical conflicts,” said Captain ArunKumar Rajendran, who has also been stranded with his tanker crew for approximately eight weeks.

Manoj Kumar Yadav of the Forward Seamen’s Union of India reported that thousands of Indian sailors aboard the stranded vessels have endured days of fear and isolation while anchored near Iranian ports such as Bandar Abbas and Khorramshahr. Some have witnessed explosions just a few hundred meters away.

“They were watching blasts from their decks,” he said. “Many of them were on board a ship for the first time, and you can imagine what mental state they have gone through.”

India, one of the world’s largest suppliers of maritime labor, has more than 20,000 nationals working on foreign-flagged ships in the region. The country’s shipping ministry reported last week that at least 2,680 sailors had been evacuated since the conflict began.

Yadav highlighted that many sailors reported severe shortages of food and drinking water, with some vessels forced to ration supplies. Communication with families in India has been sporadic due to internet disruptions and signal jamming, with some sailors paying high roaming charges for brief conversations when connections were possible.

Reza Muhammad Saleh, an Indonesian chief officer aboard a Greek-owned cargo ship stranded off Oman for over a month, described how a drone exploded near the port shortly after they arrived on March 3. At least two more incidents followed, forcing repeated evacuations of the crew to bunkers.

“The biggest problem is the uncertainty. We don’t know when Hormuz will be open again,” Saleh said. His vessel, carrying 24 crew members from Indonesia, Arab countries, India, and Ethiopia, typically transports iron ore across Gulf states, transiting Hormuz once or twice monthly. Now it requires written clearance from Iran to proceed.

The crew has been rattled by missile strikes and GPS disruptions that forced them to use manual navigation. “Sometimes we think it’s safe, then suddenly it’s not. Today we’re safe. Tomorrow, nobody knows,” Saleh added.

Fleet Management Limited maintains regular communication with dozens of stranded ships staffed by more than 400 seafarers, according to CEO Captain Rajalingam Subramaniam. The company performs regular stock checks for food supplies and arranges pickups to ensure availability by moving vessels to the nearest accessible points.

While some crew changes are still occurring, they’re limited in number. “Who wants to go on the ship?” Subramaniam said. “The inbound crew has the right to refuse and we respect that.”

Germany’s largest shipping company, Hapag-Lloyd, has approximately 150 sailors stranded near the strait on six vessels. “These are difficult days and weeks,” company spokesman Nils Haupt said earlier this month, noting that they maintain daily contact with captains and crews. “We’ve been able to rotate some of them in the meantime, but you can easily imagine that after such a long time, monotony naturally sets in on board.”

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) and other bodies have called for establishing a safe corridor for commercial vessels in the strait. However, most ships remain unable to pass through, despite Iran’s claim that the strait is open to vessels it perceives as non-hostile. Iran reportedly placed mines in the waterway, and President Trump stated last week that the U.S. was clearing these mines and would “shoot and kill” boats laying mines in the area.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez emphasized that with heightened risks of mines and attacks on ships, “there is no safe transit anywhere in the Strait of Hormuz.”

Industry experts worry that the current crisis, following other major disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea, may further exacerbate the global shortage of skilled seafarers even after the conflict ends.