At sea, in trouble

Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath nor motion; As idle as a painted ship, Upon a painted ocean.” Coleridge’s haunting words are coming true for more than 20,000 seafarers, the vast majority of whom are Indians, stuck in Strait of Hormuz. Caught between the blockade and counter-blockade imposed by Iran and US, many are running out of food, fresh water, medicine, and emergency supplies. UN’s International Maritime Organization has flagged the humanitarian crisis as unprecedented. Yet, neither warring parties, nor regional stakeholders, appear to be particularly concerned about sailors stranded at sea. On the contrary, both Tehran and Washington have been using ships and the seafarers as leverage.

Ships can’t dock in Iranian ports under US blockade, while visa restrictions and logistics make docking at Arab ports unfeasible. Plus, since the whole stretch, from Hormuz to Gulf of Oman, has been converted into a quasi war zone, with ships and tankers being targeted by both Iran’s IRGC and US navy, there is constant fear of death, aside from destruction of billions of dollars worth of cargo. Last week, US hit and disabled two tankers seeking to enter Iranian ports. Iran, meanwhile, reportedly seized a tanker, Ocean Koi, in Gulf of Oman.

Psychological pressure on seafarers in the region must be unbearable.

There are reports of ship owners threatening sailors to stay onboard, through withheld salaries, and accusations of hijacking or sabotage. They have also refused to process sign-off and repatriation of ship crews – a right protected under international maritime law. With many of the 800-1,000 ships classified as Very Very Large Vessels, there are massive financial implications involved. Some owners, therefore, are pressuring sailors to make dangerous transit runs. Hitherto, 10 seafarers have been killed in attacks on shipping.

Solutions remain elusive. Iran wants to tax and charge ships for transiting Hormuz, but US is opposed to this. US’s Project Freedom to escort ships out of the region was abruptly stopped last week, coinciding with reported Iranian strikes. Nonetheless, with most seafarers hailing from India, GOI has an added responsibility to rescue the sailors. It had done a fantastic job of rescuing stranded Indians from war theatres like Ukraine and Iraq. Given that New Delhi has good working relations with Tehran, Washington and all Gulf Arab capitals, it is uniquely placed to lead a multilateral humanitarian effort to rescue seafarers, with everyone’s cooperation. In 21st century, seafarers stranded in Hormuz, needn’t, and shouldn’t, have to go through what Coleridge’s cursed sailors did.