20,000 Indian seafarers face risk in Hormuz

Mumbai: Even as the US-Iran war continues, around 20,000 Indian seafarers are reported to be working aboard cargo ships in the Persian Gulf, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz — a 21-km-wide stretch between Iran and Oman and one of the world’s most important maritime energy corridors.

Under normal circumstances, not less than 20 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products pass through this Strait every day, although cargo ships movements have been severely affected in the present volatile situation. The principal energy cargoes originate from crude oil terminals located in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar and Iran, and are transported predominantly to Asian markets including India, China, Japan and South Korea, besides other international destinations.

Additional war-risk compensation, bonuses and enhanced insurance benefits are currently offered by Indian as well as foreign ship owners to Indian seafarers who choose to work aboard cargo ships that regularly sail through high-risk maritime areas like the Strait of Hormuz now-a-days.

“Such monetary compensations are justified because Indian seafarers are undertaking extraordinary risks to keep the global trade moving in the present scenario. This is neither a boon nor merely an issue of additional money paid to the seafarers.

It is indeed a question of finding the right balance between safety, freedom of choice and continued employment of Indian seafarers in the global shipping industry.

“Our Indian seafarers have earned an excellent reputation internationally through their competence, discipline and professionalism. We must certainly protect both, their lives and livelihoods too,” said Milind Kandalgaonkar, General Secretary-cum-Treasurer, National Union of Seafarers of India – Mumbai-based India’s leading shipping trade union.