The Decibel - The fate of ship crews stuck in the Strait of Hormuz

Episode Date: August 18, 2026

More than 6,000 ship workers, including some Canadians, have been stranded in the Persian Gulf — some in the Strait of Hormuz — since the war in Iran began at the end of February. Some workers — also known as seafarers — have been stuck on board without pay, or help from their ships’ owners. With little signs of progress on talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the fate of these workers remains unclear.    One of the people they turn to for assistance is Mohamed Arrachedi, a co-ordinator for the International Transport Workers' Federation, a group that represents unions across every sector of global transport. Mr. Arrachedi shares what he’s hearing from these stranded seafarers and the challenges involved in getting them the help they need.  Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [e-mail] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Five and a half months into the war in Iran, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains at an effective standstill. And that means many ships are stuck. There were more than 1,000 ships in the Persian Gulf at the start of the war. Now, about 400 civilian vessels with a total of roughly 6,000 crew members aboard remain in the Gulf. Because of the war, it's risky for ships to try to pass through. They could get hit by drones or missile strikes. And some workers, also known as seafarers, have been left stranded on board without pay or help from their ship's owners. One of the people they turn to for assistance is a man named Mohamed Arachetti.

He's a coordinator for the International Transport Workers Federation, or ITF. That's a group that represents unions across every sector of global transport, and Muhammad specifically looks after issues in the Arab world and Iran. Muhammad's work often involves helping seafarers who have been abandoned. According to the Maritime Labor Convention, under the ILO, the International Labor Organization, seafarers are considered abandoned when they haven't been paid for two months, when the owners don't maintain or properly stock the ship, or when the owner refuses to pay for their repatriation.

Since the start of the war in Iran, the ITF says they've helped 1,000 seafarers get home. Today, Mohammed is here to talk about what he's hearing from these seafarers and the challenges involved in getting them the help they need. I'm Cheryl Sutherland, and this is the Decibel from the Globe and Mail. Hi, Mohammed, thank you so much for joining me today. Thanks for the invitation. Yes, and we should say that we've caught you in Morocco. You're on vacation with your family in Morocco, but generally you're still getting messages all the time on your phone.

My phone doesn't stop. Emaz doesn't stop. Let's start by kind of getting a sense of who these people are, the seafarers, right? So, yeah, who are we talking about? Where do these people come from? And what do they do as seafarers? The seafarers are workers who work on board of ships. Most of the seafarers are normally from the global south, from India, from Egypt, from Ethiopia, from Tanzania, from Indonesia, from Sri Lanka, from the Philippines, from Ukraine.

from Russia. So most of this is one of the characteristics of the modern maritime activity. The maritime industry is key to our economies. Everyone now talks about, I mean, even before the war, we have observed how in COVID all humanity has discovered that the economy is interdependent now. Many citizens have heard for the first time and discovered how economy depends on ships because the supply chains were interrupted. Then we have discovered how now in this war in the Gulf, how we were more dependent on shipping, on supplies, and how we have seen in a few weeks how inflation in our countries were affected

and how the supply chains were affected. The global economy is really intrinsically related to shipping. And shipping are seafarers because seafarers are the workforce without which the vessels cannot sail. More than 90% of the goods of the world move through shipping. And vessels technologically are not yet prepared to sail alone. So just like the airplanes, the airplanes need pilots, need captains. So the same thing. And when we talk about now, today we'll be talking about their working conditions and about

your living conditions, it's very important again to put the accent on this because the seafar is men and women, contrary to me, contrary to many listeners, they do work and leave on board. The seafar cannot move by himself because she and he are working on board of a ship and the movement here is limited. So it's very important that when we talk about seafar as men and women, it's firstly important to understand and put the emphasis on that. The working conditions and living conditions here goes together. Yeah. So I think that's what you're saying here is really important to remember that, of course, these are people that are working and living aboard ships.

And now there's a lot more attention on this because we're seeing some of these ships being stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, which of course means that are people that are also stuck around the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf as well. I wanted to get a sense from you about what you do here then, Mohamed. Can you explain what your job normally entails? Since 28th of February, since the war has started in the Gulf, we have received more than 3,200 requests from seafarers. Every seafar is talking on behalf of three.

Sometimes you receive a request talking on, we are here, we are stranded, we need help, we are 20 Indian seafarers. or sometimes you get a message yesterday, I received a message from three seafarers from Ethiopia. So one message speaking on behalf of three seafarers stranded in this case in an Iranian port. So what we do is we get the message, we read it, we do a diagnosis to see what is the request,

is it a repatriation request, is it the seafarer whose contract is over and he wants to go, go, is it a medical request, a seafar who is sick, who needs to be, to have a medical check. Or it is a seafarer who is afraid because I've just been informed that the vessel will go through almost straight and he doesn't want to to remain on board. Or it is unpaid wages, or it is an abandonment, so it's more than two months unpaid wages, or it is just a simple consultation. A seafarer, a man or woman, approach us and asks, well, I am working here, I am in Iran and I'm going to Yemen and I am wondering if I am entitled to a bonus because I am exposed here my life in danger and they are not paying me a bonus.

Am I entitled or not to it? So it can be the range of requests, I mean, can be a mere request of information, consultation, guidance to the ITF from us. Or sometimes it is a proper request. I want to go home. I don't want to die here. please get me out of here. And sometimes also an important part of these requests are related to total lack of fuel, total lack of food, or sometimes just shortage of food. Well, Mohammed, please can you help us because we have a shortage of food?

So sometimes they tell you, well, we have some food, but we are eating once a day. So then they ask for the ITF to interfere and to intervene and try to assist them. We're, of course, talking about civilians in the middle of a war zone. How dangerous is it for them right now? The seafarers are civilian workers. And at this moment, there is a huge feeling of lack of protection. The seafarers are seeking to be protected. But it's absolutely unacceptable that civil seafarers pay with their lives.

Because there's been 50 seafarers that have died, according to the ITF, right? Yes, yes. This is the numbers we work on. And when they do not pay with their lives, they are dealt with as hostages in this geostatic conflict. We have still 6,000 seafarers stranded according to the IMO, still stranded in the area. This is a huge number.

What's the solution we are giving to this? What are we waiting? Because if you take case by case, I refuse to talk to them as numbers. because there is a huge drama behind every story. And as you said, these are civilians. So civilians need to be protected. So when it comes to these cases where we are talking food and provisions,

air conditioning, no electricity, no fuel, because if you have no fuel, you have no electricity, you have no air conditioning. And it's very hot in those boats, right? When there's no electricity, that means it's hot there. Yes. And we have seafarish pictures and videos. and video seafar sleep in the deck because it's impossible to

sleep. No air condition. Air condition is a basic need on these cases. The vulnerability of the seafarers at sea is there is no job like this one. The seafar in order to move from the vessel, he needs to go through immigration. He cannot just walk out of the port

and walk across the street and buy a supermarket. The seafar here vulnerability is big. We'll be right back. You mentioned that you don't want to talk about these people as numbers because they are people and they, you know, they all have these lives. And I think that's a really important thing that you said there. And I wanted to ask you, can you give us a sense of some of the messages that you get? Like, what story sticks out to you? The latest one I have, I had someone crying on the film.

And it is very, very difficult to handle because at the end of the day, you talk about a person. We have cases with Seafar who has passed a lot of years experiences Sefer's crying. And Seafar is telling you we have a case recently where the Seafarer has only one recently married and has one kid of six years. And the kid needs an urgent surgery. So it's like a huge family drama because he needs to be home and he needs to be paid to pay the surgery. and this guy was not paid for six months. So this is another additional drama. All the cases we do receive

are with a huge mental and psychological pressure from the seafarers. There are cases where seafarers have, I remember one Tanzanian seafarer who had seven days to finish his contract and the vessel was going to go through almost straight And he was absolutely affected. He was not able to sleep because they were literally ignoring him.

They have been ignoring him for more than one month. And the vessel was sailing. So he went out of the vessel and he went to the police in the port. I don't want to go. So we interfered and the port authority intervened and kept the vessel at Anchorage until this guy was repatriated. When he was repatriated, they never paid him. So we took us another three months after being repatriated, chasing them, chasing them, chasing them, then at last was paid.

Or we have seen more intimidating practices where the seafarer is just, you have contacted the ITF. So stop working. And he put him in a cabin. I have just finished one case of Syrian seafarers who after asking for help, he was just confined. He was just dismissed it, ordered to remain in the cabin, and for more than one month and a half, he was just staying the cabin. They were not repatriating him,

and he kept him in the cabin for one month and a half, and not paying him and not arranged for his repatriation. And the vulnerability again here, is evident because the seafarer cannot apply for his visa himself. It is the local agent who has to do it, and the local agent is employed by the owner. So it's the owner who must instruct the local agent to arrange for repatriation. And again, the seafarer, again, is vulnerable. Mohamed, you mentioned earlier this issue about ship abandonment,

which is basically this idea around when, A ship owner does not pay its employees after two months of unpaid work. Do we know how many ships have been abandoned because of what's going on with this particular war? Well, the definition of the MLC is one of three situations to define it as abandonment is when one of the one of three possibilities occurs. And so the MLC, just to say, is a maritime labor convention, just to say that. Right-term Labor Convention, which is an ILO convention, which Canada has notified, not the States, but Canada, yes. So when you have a non-payment of two months basic, two-month salaries, this is an abandonment.

When the seafarer, when the owner refuses to repatriate the seafarer, it's also an abandonment. It doesn't need both conditions at the same time, only one. If it's only repatriation, he is paid on time, no problem for wages, but there is no repatriation, so this is an abandonment. When he is not paid for two months, it's an abandonment. When he is also the third possibility is where the owner fails to meet his obligation to the vessel. He's not buying food. He's not paying. Even if they are paid, even if they are repatriated on time, but he is not buying food, he's not taking care of the vessel and the crew will be in. So these things, when he fails to do, to bring the food and water on board, this is also.

on abandonment. In 2025, there were 412 cases reported. Wow. In 2004, if I remember, it was more than 300 cases of abandonment. And under the war, this is one reason more because a war is already an extraordinary situation. So the war, if the seafarers are already suffering in normal situation of abandonment, So when an abandonment occurs in a situation of war, the suffering is triple. We have seen how seafarers were approaching us during the war.

Many, many messages are accompanied with videos of vessels that has been reached by missiles or drones. So to express that they are afraid, that they are afraid that they will be the next one. If there is a vessel in the port and they are waiting to get into that port and they can see that the vessels in the port has been reached by a missile or by a drone. They are obviously afraid to be the next one hit by a drone. And this is an additional psychological pressure. Yeah. Not only they have these food insecurities, medical insecurities,

but of course you also have the mental load of all of it, right? You're in a war zone and you're surrounded by drones and what happens if your ship gets attacked. I mean, I can't imagine what that might be. be like as well. And just to get some numbers in here, Mohamed, so this from the, from the international labor organization. It says since the start of the war, there were 16 ships abandoned between Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, and the UAE. And eight of those ships are still unresolved, just to get a sense of what's going on right now. And of course, we're talking about bad actors,

not all shipowners, but it just gives us a sense of what kind of, you know, situation some of these seafarers are in right now. Mohamed, I wanted to ask you, something because you've been working for the ITF for 25 years and, you know, issues with seafarers that go beyond this war, as you've been talking about today. And I mean, for example, when I was doing some research here, I remember during COVID, of course, there were seafarers that were stuck on chips for years then. So this is, of course, not the first time that you've been dealing with labor issues, that this has been issues for seafarers. But what about this particular moment concerns you? Like, what are your seafarers telling you now that's different?

Well, for example, I have been dealing, as you said, I've been dealing in the Arab region with a little case of abandonment. And for the first time, I'm hearing more and more seafarers telling me, if I get safe, if I get safe and get out of this, I would never come back again to sea. And this is a substantial. substantial modification in the thinking of seafarers because the seafarers

are aware of what is happening and they can see that there is total lack of perspectives in this area. They can see peace yes, peace now and attacks continues and then almost is open, almost is not open, then it's open but one missile has just hit this vessel

and then you get through almost and then you say, now you cannot pass, go back, and the parties in the conflict are not guaranteeing the safe sailing of the seafarers. Then the dead seafarers, which is not one or two or three or five, or just collateral. The seafarers are being used as hostages in this conflict. And this is not fair, and this has to stop, because the seafarers must be guaranteed,

regardless of their nationalities, their religions, and where they are coming from, they must be guaranteed by the parties in the conflict. Absolute protection by all the parties in conflict. This is what we are requested. And now when you see that someone is telling you after 30 years or 20 years at sea for the first time, if I get home, I will not come back again,

this should be a very strong reason knowing that there is shortage among seafarers, especially officers in the market, this should be a really big concern to all the industry. This is not the first war. It seems that we are not learning. We are seeing war now in Ukraine. I've seen war in Lebanon, in Syria, in Iran, in Iraq, in Libya, in Sudan.

We are seeing now the resurrection again of piracy attacks in Somalia. And it seems that we are not prepared yet as industry. if we don't grant 100% protection to the seafarers, obviously is a human reaction. They're not going to come back. Although years I have been working, this is one of the things that I have observed recently. And as you mentioned, I mean, these ships need seafarers to be on them. And it sounds like they're not willing to do it anymore because of the dangers. Then this will be another challenge on the industry, because we are talking about basic things,

the right of seafers to work protected. We are talking about, I want to go safe to join a vessel, do my job for three, six or nine months, and go back safely home. Nothing more. What do you think then could make their lives better? I know it's a big question, but is there anything tangible that you could see

that could make this a better situation for them? For the people still anchored in the Gulf, that is, yeah. So, I mean, dignity of the cipher is important, and this should be respected. The ciphers are humans, and we need to, sometimes maybe, it's just to have the will or the courage to implement and to apply existing laws. I don't think even we need to invent new laws. The laws exist, but you have to take the decisions to eradicate this minority of bad sheep owners out of the market. So what we're talking about here is strict regulations for ship owners and more accountability. Yes, more implementation of existing rules that exist already.

Mohamed, thank you so much for taking the time today. I really appreciate it. Thank you for putting and wanting to put a light on this difficult realities. All thanks to you. That was Mohamed Arachetti, a coordinator with the International Transport Workers Federation. That's all for today. I'm Cheryl Sutherland. Tiff Lamb mixed this episode. Our producers are Madeline White, Rachel Levy McGlachlan, and Mahal Stein. Our editor is David Crosby. Adrian Chung is our senior producer, and Angela Pichenza is our executive editor.

Thanks so much for listening. Thank you.