Kamal Ghorui
India is uniquely placed to rescue Hormuz sailors . It must lead a multilateral mission for repatriation
More than 20,000 sailors, most of them from India, are stuck at sea near the Strait of Hormuz because of tensions between Iran and the United States. This situation is similar to the famous poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, where sailors are trapped on a ship and unable to move. Many of the real-life sailors are running low on food, clean water, medicine, and other important supplies. The International Maritime Organization has called this a serious humanitarian crisis. However, the countries involved do not seem to be doing enough to help the sailors.
Because of US sanctions, ships cannot easily stop at Iranian ports. At the same time, strict rules and travel problems make it difficult for them to use ports in nearby Arab countries. The waters around Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman have become dangerous, almost like a war zone. Ships are being attacked or stopped by both Iran’s military forces and the US navy. This has made sailors afraid for their lives, while valuable cargo worth billions of dollars is also at risk.
The sailors are also facing huge mental stress. Some ship owners are forcing crews to stay on board by not paying them or by threatening them with false accusations. Many sailors are not being allowed to return home, even though international law says they should have that right. Some companies are pushing ships to continue dangerous journeys because the ships and cargo are extremely expensive. So far, at least 10 sailors have died in attacks on ships in the region.
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