THE plight of seafarers on board vessels trapped in the Middle East Gulf is not as bad as first feared, industry sources have told Lloyd’s List.
Supplies are reaching the trapped ships and crew can rotate out, now that Middle Eastern airspace has opened.
Crew are, in most cases, being compensated for operating in a dangerous area, sometimes earning double pay for working on ships trapped in the gulf in line with collective bargaining agreements.
That is a situation that has taken several weeks to emerge, however.
In the first few days following US and Israeli strikes on Iran, “the entire support infrastructure for vessels in the area practically collapsed”, dry bulk owner DryDel Shipping told Lloyd’s List.
Local suppliers stopped operating, and even where supplies were available, prices doubled or even tripled.
Seafarer trade union Nautilus International’s general secretary, Sascha Meijer, said in those early days vessels were stuck in the Strait of Hormuz without access to supplies.
“There were drones flying over, there were bombs and there were missiles,” she said. It was too dangerous for many vessels to enter port in those first days of the war.
At the same time, airspace over most MEG countries closed almost immediately following those initial strikes for several days, sometimes for weeks afterwards.
The UAE only opened its airspace fully in earlier this month, after weeks of partial disruption due to the threat of missile attacks.
Middle Eastern aviation hubs, such as Dubai and Doha airports, are crucial to the system of crew rotation. For those not involved in its running day to day, this process is out of sight and out of mind for most.
Grinding halt
Yet when it goes wrong, the supply of crew around the world grinds to a halt.
This is effectively what happened in the early days of March. With airspace closed, thousands of commercial flights were cancelled, which coupled with the lack of vessel movement made crew rotation difficult, if not impossible.
Seafarers expecting to disembark after completing six months or more found themselves trapped onboard for extended periods, DryDel told Lloyd’s List, with no real visibility on they could return home.
“This created enormous psychological pressure not only for the crews themselves but also for their families back home.”
DryDel, like many other shipping companies, responded by providing free internet access 24 hours a day so crew could stay in contact with family.
“Many were watching missiles and drones in the vicinity of the vessels,” the bulker owner told Lloyd’s List.
Most shipowners, Nautilus’ Meijer said, have acted as best they can to look after their seafarers.
Communication in the early days of the conflict was difficult, and seafarers suffered from a lack of information, but Meijer pointed out that this was not a problem limited to shipowners.
Since then, most large shipping companies have “done their best” to facilitate crew changes and even “do something extra” for seafarers trapped on board.
Some crew told Meijer they had requested games consoles and received them. Some have been provided with fishing gear and barbecue their catch on deck each evening and even fashioned makeshift pools.
That does still mean days are very stressful and uncertain, Meijer pointed out.
Calmer situation
But for the most part, the situation behind the lines of this conflict has calmed down for seafarers.
InterManager secretary-general, Captain Kuba Szymanski, said that while things are certainly not back to normal, it’s not a critical situation either.
The resumption of flights is making crew changes possible, and ship chandlers are happy to do business, he told Lloyd’s List.
Meijer said that since the ceasefire between the US and Iran began, supplies have not been an issue.
Yet she said the volatility of the situation was taking its toll on those seafarers operating in the MEG.
“It can change at any moment”, she said, highlighting US President Trump’s Project Freedom plan to escort vessels with US naval assets, which was quickly followed by renewed attacks on ships exiting the MEG.
“That’s the kind of moment where the stress level goes up, both in terms of becoming a target as ships, and in terms of what will happen to supplies,” Meijer told Lloyd’s List.
The International Chamber of Shipping director of marine John Stawpert, said the situation in the MEG remains “deeply concerning”, despite the fact crew changes are not taking place and vessels continue to receive supplies “albeit at significantly increased cost”.
“That some operational continuity has been maintained does not alleviate our serious concerns regarding the mental well-being of seafarers who remain effectively trapped in the region for a prolonged period.
“Shipowners are doing everything within their ability to support and care for their crews, but there are clear limits to what industry alone can resolve.
“What is urgently needed is for states to work together towards a swift and transparent resolution that restores freedom of navigation and ensures the safety, security and welfare of all crews operating in the region.”
Stawpert’s comments reflect those of the International Maritime Organization secretary-general, who has called for the release of seafarers is the MEG several times.
The IMO said it is working with member states and partners for an evacuation plan for seafarers when it is safe to carry out, but this would need all sides to agree to refrain from attacking ships during the operation.
There are still thousands of seafarers working on vessels trapped in the MEG, and some, Meijer explains, are not able to leave as their ships must be ready to transit at a moment’s notice.
But the reality for most seafarers is that while the ships remain stuck for the foreseeable future, the situation for those on board is at least better than two months ago.
