The war in Middle East has seen the lives of ships crew put on the line by both sides the US and Iran battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz
We’re over 100 days into the war between US/Israel and Iran and the lives of seafarers continue to put at extreme risk on a daily basis. Despite a supposed ceasefire since 8 April shipping has very much remained at the frontline of sporadic attacks and a fight for control of the Strait of Hormuz.
The statistics as compiled by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) make for grim reading with 46 attacks on ship confirmed as 11 June and 14 fatalities among innocent seafarers. That includes four seafarers killed and nine injured since the ceasefire started, and multiple ships crews detained by both sides on the conflict after their vessels were boarded.
Then there are the estimated 1,000 ships and 20,000 crew stranded in the Arabian Gulf faced with difficult conditions, shortages of supplies, and conflict going on around them. For more than 100 days they and their families have wondered when and if they will get home safely.
Attacks on ships
The lives of innocent seafarers have been shown to be expendable to Iran since the outset of the war when it muscularly took control of the Strait of Hormuz effectively blocking 20% of the world’s oil and gas trade. Unarmed merchant vessels have been targeted with drones and missiles against which they have no defence in both the Strait itself and within the wider region with attacks stretching from Iraq to the Omani coast on the Arabian Sea. These attacks resulted in 11 out of the 14 crew reported killed.
The crew on these ships have absolutely nothing to do with the current conflict and are not in the region by choice but rather because it is where their job has taken them. Most come from the Philippines, India, and Eastern Europe and are at sea to earn money to feed their families and improve their lives back in their home country.
Death by Hellfire
But Iran has not been alone in attacking merchant shipping and the US has also hit eight vessels since it started its blockade of Iranian ports on 13 April aimed primarily at stopping Iran’s oil exports which move on a mix of Iranian and non-Iranian vessels.
Firing something called a Hellfire missile at an unarmed merchant vessel was almost certainly going end deaths and injuries among the crew onboard sooner or later. This week has seen US forces target three tankers all with Indian crew and one of those the Palau-flagged, UAE-owned, Settebello resulted in three seafarers losing their lives.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez put it as well as anyone could when he stated on 10 June: “I strongly condemn any act from any party that endangers the lives of seafarers and the safety of international shipping. This is simply unacceptable. My thoughts are with the families of the three seafarers who lost their lives and with all those awaiting news of the crew members.” This not about taking sides in the conflict. These are innocent civilians going about their working lives – bombing them and their place of work is not acceptable.
Hormuz propaganda
Whether the Strait of Hormuz is open or closed has become a tool of propaganda. Iran has claimed control with its Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) with an opaque system of approvals and tolls for vessels to transit. It has produced pretty coloured pie charts, posted on social media, of vessels that have applied for and granted approval to transit, well that was until it claimed it had closed the Strait earlier this week as the conflict with US ramped up again.
Meanwhile the US and President Donald Trump made a big hoo-ha with its short-lived Operation Project Freedom in early May before it realised that a more low-key approach might work better with vessels operating dark transiting through the Strait in Omani waters. US Central Command claims the Strait is open and that hundreds of vessels have transited, although this is just a fraction of the 138 per day average crossings prior to 28 February
Even if a peace agreement is imminent as the US President claims the security situation in the Strait is likely to remain fraught and a potential flashpoint for some considerable time with the lives of seafarers potentially on the line in any flare up of hostilities.
