Seafarers in the Strait of Hormuz
- Seattle Seafarers Center
- 4 minutes ago
- 5 min read
By Julia Cooper, Director of Operations
Last month, I saw another news headline about ships in peril in the Strait of Hormuz. This time I had a jolt of recognition as I read about a ship named the MSC Francesca which had been taken captive by Iran. I’ve visited this ship before.
As a seafarers center on the US West Coast, we are somewhat removed from the daily conflict impacting ships transiting the Middle East. Most of the ships we work with have routes around the Pacific Ocean, stopping in East Asia, Oceania, Canada, and the US. A few of the container ships or vehicle carriers we visit also make stops in Mexico and then transit the Panama Canal on their way to Europe. The crew of these ships face plenty of challenges, but they do not have to be constantly on guard against the threats of violent attacks and piracy.
The MSC Francesca was one such ship, stopping in Seattle last summer and fall as part of their Pacific route. Our team keeps logs of every ship we visit, and so I was able to look back on the details of our visits. The crew at the time was a mix of Filipinos, Indonesians, and Montenegrins. Rich visited them back in October and brought a load of free T-shirts and hats, and then helped the crew out with some SIM cards, a money transfer to the Philippines, and an order of Jollibee (a favorite Filipino fast-food chain). The crew also spent some time at our Center relaxing.
I visited the MSC Francesca last June and had a memorable visit. None of the Indonesian crewmembers were allowed shore leave at the time, which they were pretty bummed about. Luckily, some of the Filipino crew did have shore leave and were willing to shop for some items on behalf of their crewmates. I took 2 guys to Southcenter Mall and we spent quite a bit of time at the Apple store choosing out a watch for their crewmate’s wife. It was a bit comical - the Apple store salesperson would ask me questions about what we wanted, I would relay that to the 2 Filipino crew with me, who would relay that via Facetime to the Indonesian guy on the ship, who would then confirm via message with his wife back in Indonesia. They wanted my opinions on what watch bands were the nicest, and we used my wrist as a sample measurement to guess what size his wife would need. After much back and forth, a watch was finally purchased!
I remember resting in the mall lobby for a bit while the guys continued to shop. I didn’t log this in my ship notes, but I also seem to remember a trip to Victoria’s Secret afterwards where I served as underwear advisor for these two guys as they tried to fulfill some requests from their own wives… A unique shopping trip indeed. Finally, we stopped by our Seafarers Center on the way back to the ship, and they wanted to take a picture together.
I was alarmed last month to hear that their ship had then been taken hostage in the Strait of Hormuz. I read an article about the ship’s seizure that included pictures of masked men with huge guns on their backs climbing up a ladder to the ship. I can only imagine how terrifying that would be for the crew.
Most of the crew on container ships like the MSC Francesca have contracts of 9-10 months, and so it is unlikely any of the crewmembers I met in June were still onboard when the ship was seized in April, but possible. It is more probable that some of the crew Rich met in October were still on the ship.
Over the past month, I’ve periodically looked up the MSC Francesca to see if there are any updates about the crew. There’s not much to find. One of the first reports in April quoted Iranian authorities saying the crew was “unharmed” and “safe,” but I haven’t seen any updates beyond that. Some of the newer articles focus exclusively on the cargo the ship was carrying and the financial implications for the owners, without a single reference to the crew taken hostage.
The crew of the MSC Francesca are not alone in being severely impacted by the ongoing war. Other ships have also been seized or attacked. There have been at least 38 attacks reported, killing at least 11 seafarers and injuring many others. It is estimated that 20,000 seafarers remain stuck in limbo on their vessels, unable to get through the strait. Many of these crews are running out of food, water, and other basic necessities.
Many of these seafarers have already had their lives overturned by war in recent years. Our team in Seattle meets a decent number of seafarers from Ukraine, most of whom avoid going back to Ukraine in between their shipping contracts so they won’t be conscripted to fight in the army. Imagine the plight of a Ukrainian seafarer whose home was destroyed in the war and whose family has had to take refuge in another country - imagine them going back to sea to provide for their family only to be caught up in another war in the Strait of Hormuz.
We have colleagues through our network of seafarers’ welfare organizations who are operating in the middle of the warzone, bringing food and water to ships. Other organizations run helplines for seafarers, which are being flooded with urgent calls. Many seafarers are so scared, and for good reason. Work is also being done to repatriate seafarers to their homes, but it is slow-going, and the distress of the seafarers who remain stuck on their ships only continues to grow.
Please keep seafarers in your thoughts and prayers as this war continues. If you would like to learn more about what seafarers are experiencing right now in the Strait of Hormuz, here are several articles recommended by our colleagues from NAMMA (North American Maritime Ministry Association):
BBC: “I survived a missile strike in the Strait of Hormuz, but my friend has not been found”
Reuters: “Iran's intensified closure of Strait of Hormuz piles misery on stranded sailors”
International Transport Workers’ Federation: “ITF condemns fresh wave of attacks and seizures on civilian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz”
ABC News Australia: “Sitting near the Strait of Hormuz, seafarers are in limbo as Iran war drags on”
France 24: “Helplines buzz with alerts from seafarers trapped in war”