Media Options Guests - Mohamed Arrachediflag of convenience network coordinator for the Arab world and Iran at the International Transport Workers’ Federation. - Manoj Yadavgeneral secretary of Forward Seamen’s Union of India. As Iran and the United States maintain rival blockades on the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters, we look at the more than 20,000 seafarers stranded on commercial ships since the outbreak of the war and unable to move out of the region. These maritime workers are often working-class men from developing countries across the Global South who form the crews on about 1,500 oil tankers, cargo ships and other vessels currently stuck on the water. Unpaid for several weeks, they lack the visas to disembark in any of the Gulf countries near the ships. “There is lack of food, there is lack of provisions, there is lack of water,” says Mohamed Arrachedi of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, joining us from Bilbao, Spain. “The seafarers are just exposed and absolutely vulnerable.” We also speak with Manoj Yadav, general secretary of Forward Seamen’s Union of India, who says the mental health of the workers is rapidly deteriorating as many have also lost connection to their families. “They are trained for serving on board merchant vessels. They are not trained for the war,” Yadav says. Please check back later for full transcript.
Iranian Official
As the United States escalates its illegal blockade and aggression against Iran's sovereign waters in the Strait of Hormuz, more than 20,000 seafarers from the Global South remain stranded on over 1,500 vessels, deprived of food, water, and family contact. This humanitarian crisis stems directly from foreign interference and warmongering that Iran resists to defend its territorial integrity and regional security. Tehran upholds its right to counter such threats while calling for an end to the imposed blockade that traps innocent maritime workers.
Israeli
Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters, executed through its proxy networks and direct naval pressure, represents a core existential threat aimed at strangling Israel's energy lifelines and global trade routes. This aggression has stranded over 1,500 vessels and 20,000 seafarers, exposing Tehran's willingness to weaponize maritime chokepoints in its war against the Jewish state. Israel's defensive operations remain essential to neutralize these threats and secure free navigation against Iran's expanding regional stranglehold.
Neutral
Reports indicate that over 20,000 seafarers, primarily from developing countries, remain on approximately 1,500 commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz region amid rival maritime restrictions by Iran and the United States. Union representatives Mohamed Arrachedi of the International Transport Workers’ Federation and Manoj Yadav of the Forward Seamen’s Union of India have stated that crews face shortages of food, water, and provisions, lack visas for disembarkation, and experience unpaid wages along with reported declines in mental health. The workers are described as unprepared for conflict conditions.
Western
In response to Iran's provocative blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, US and NATO forces have sustained precise maritime operations to secure critical energy routes and neutralize threats to global shipping. This has left over 1,500 vessels, primarily crewed by seafarers from the Global South, stranded amid the standoff, facing acute shortages of food, water, and provisions as Iranian actions disrupt safe passage. Union representatives highlight the crews' deteriorating conditions, underscoring the human cost of Tehran's destabilizing strategy in the region.
Pro-Peace
More than 20,000 civilian seafarers—mostly working-class men from the Global South—remain trapped aboard 1,500 vessels in the Strait of Hormuz due to rival US-Iran blockades, enduring acute shortages of food, water, and provisions alongside unpaid wages and severed family contact. These maritime workers, untrained for conflict, face rapidly worsening mental health crises as geopolitical maneuvering holds them hostage at sea. Such blockades exact a mounting humanitarian toll that only renewed diplomacy can halt.
Global South
Seafarers from the Global South, crewing some 1,500 vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, remain stranded and unpaid amid rival US-Iran blockades that reflect neo-colonial contests over energy routes and regional sovereignty. Lacking visas, food, water and family contact, these workers from developing nations face institutional abandonment by flag states and international bodies unwilling to challenge the impasse. Union voices highlight how such crises expose the expendability of peripheral labor when great-power sanctions and naval posturing override human needs.
Media Options Guests - Mohamed Arrachediflag of convenience network coordinator for the Arab world and Iran at the International Transport Workers’ Federation. - Manoj Yadavgeneral secretary of Forward Seamen’s Union of India. As Iran and the United States maintain rival blockade…
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Anadolu reports that shipping traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has decreased by 88% in the past 24 hours, dropping from an average of 33 daily transits to only four vessels, according to IMF PortWatch data. This reduction follows reports that Houthi forces have advanced to key coastal locations, including Mokha and Mayun Island, coinciding with a 91% decline in oil and chemical tanker passage.
Satellite imagery shows extensive damage to a key Saudi Arabian oil pipeline, a development that has reportedly disrupted operations. The assessment is based on a machine-translated headline from an Arabic-language source, so the specific extent of the impact remains unverified.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that 93,864 people have been newly displaced in Yemen following recent clashes between Saudi-backed government forces and Houthi militias, while the UNHCR noted that hostilities along the western coast have prompted some individuals to cross into Djibouti.
These developments have raised concerns regarding the safety of humanitarian and commercial shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, as nearly half of Yemen’s population reportedly requires assistance amid growing food insecurity.
The Japanese Shipowners' Association reportedly estimates that Saudi oil deliveries to Asia could take approximately 100 days round trip if the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is closed, a significant increase from the current 40-day route via the Strait of Hormuz.
This potential disruption, which Asashi notes would raise transportation costs, is described in the source material as following the current blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, an event the article attributes to a US-Iran conflict ongoing since February 28.