What it's like to be a seafarer stuck in the Strait of Hormuz

You hear about oil prices and gas prices almost daily now since the U.S. war with Iran has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a route that used to carry a fifth of the world's oil.

But the impact on oil prices is just part of the story.

The strikes on tankers and the mines in the Strait that push up the cost per barrel on the global market are a dangerous reality of daily life for the crews on those ships, some of whom have been stuck aboard since February.

Jillian Ambrose is energy correspondent at The Guardian, and she's been in touch with some of those workers. She joined “Marketplace Morning Report” host Kimberly Adams

Kimberly Adams: When we hear about ships being stuck in the Strait of Hormuz or tankers being fired on by U.S. or Iranian forces, who are the people actually on these ships?

Jillian Ambrose: These are seafarers who are trained to do a job on the vessels that they crew, and they are not crucially people with combat experience. They're not trained to be in military situations, and yet, thanks to this war, they have been. And it's been an incredibly difficult and psychologically challenging place for thousands. What we know is that, at peak, around 20,000 seafarers were trapped in the Gulf, and at the moment there are still thousands there that have been stuck in the Gulf since February.

Adams: Can you talk more about the danger that these crews are facing, basically trying to get oil out to the world and other cargo, because we hear sort of in the abstract about the strikes on tankers, but what does that really mean? Are these ships being sunk? Are they being disabled? Are seafarers being killed?

Ambrose: This is a war effectively where energy supplies have become weaponized, and we've seen oil tankers emerge as key targets for strikes as a result. We know that at least 17 seafarers have died since hostilities began, and the majority of these have been following Iranian strikes. I think more than that, there's the constant threat that you could be struck at any point. And there have been stories that we've heard from the seafarers where they might be within eyesight, eyeline of a tanker which has been struck, and they'll hear the radio calls for help, and they'll be able to see the flames, and, you know, sort of bearing witness to those casualties, as well, I think, has been the sort of key concern.

Adams: The Strait of Hormuz has been designated as a warlike operations area, which gives the shipping crew the right to refuse the voyage and to go home at the company's expense. When someone does choose to leave, what happens to them, and how does that role get filled?

Ambrose: It's incredibly difficult, and I know for the seafarers that we were speaking to, it was a process that took many, many weeks. First of all, you need to find someone who's willing to take the place of that seafarer who wants to leave. That's easier said than done. You are paid double pay to work in hazardous areas, but for many people, quite understandably, that wouldn't be worth it to take these kinds of risks.

Adams: I imagine a lot of folks listening to this conversation are wondering why these companies and their crews would even risk trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz at this point. What's pushing them to keep trying?

Ambrose: Well, many aren't. I think, especially the larger, more responsible shipping owners, they've got too much at stake. They've got insurance companies that just wouldn't wouldn't allow for that and wouldn't sign off on that. What we did see when there was that brief ceasefire was many vessels took that opportunity to get out. Many succeeded, but not all. So there are, I think, around 70 large tankers that have been stranded in the Gulf since February.