Trapped seafarers traumatized by Gulf fighting, charities warn

Nearly 20,000 seafarers have been stranded in the Gulf for more than two months, isolated and traumatized by drones, missiles, and vessel seizures amid the Middle East war.

Maritime charities are warning of grave mental health consequences for crews trapped in the firing line of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

How many seafarers are stranded in the Persian Gulf?

Around 20,000 civilian seafarers remain aboard vessels in the Persian Gulf, unable to leave the region since Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz began on 28 February.

They include captains, cooks, engineers and officers, the workers who keep global freight flowing, now stranded in an active conflict zone.

What are seafarers experiencing in the Gulf conflict?

Trade vessels have been struck by projectiles and fired on by Iranian Revolutionary Guards in dozens of incidents, according to British maritime security monitor UKMTO.

At least 11 seafarers have been killed, according to the International Maritime Organization. At least two commercial vessels have also been seized by Iranian forces under their blockade of the vital trade route.

"We hear stories of how frightened they are. It's pretty scary," said Gavin Lim, head of the Crisis Response Network for the Sailors' Society, a UK-based seafarers' charity, who spoke with one crew whose vessel was hit. "They thought: 'We were going to die'."

Lim described the psychological toll building over weeks of exposure. "You can imagine that anxiety and fear building up," he said. "'Are we just bait? Are we going to be a victim so that someone can make a point?'"

What mental health toll are stranded seafarers facing?

The Seafarers' Charity cites hypervigilance, burnout, fatigue, loneliness, depression and anxiety among the mental strains facing trapped crews. A video showed masked guards with guns boarding a seized ship. John Canias, maritime operations coordinator for the International Transport Workers' Federation, said one officer suffered a panic attack during a boarding.

"Fortunately, the news is they have been taken care of," Canias added. "They have been allowed to speak to their family through the internet." Simon Grainge, chief executive of seafarers' helpline charity ISWAN, said most calls from stranded workers concerned repatriation rights and the stress of being in a conflict zone without training or preparation.

How are the families of stranded seafarers coping?

The strain extends beyond the ships to the families waiting at home. On 1 March, the second day of the conflict, a projectile struck a tanker in the Gulf, killing a 25-year-old Indian seafarer as he started his shift in the engine room. Melanie Warman, communications director for the Sailors' Society, spoke to his family after the incident.

"The mother has been in and out of hospital, not eating. It's obviously a really desperate situation," she told AFP. "For the families, this is really, really difficult. We hear from families who can't reach their loved ones on board ships and they're really frantic with worry."

What support and training are charities providing?

Some charities are working with shipping companies to develop guidance suited to wartime conditions, rather than relying on frameworks built around earlier crises. "The most up-to-date guidance we have on mental health and attacks is really based around Somali piracy," said Deborah Layde, chief executive of the Seafarers' Charity, referring to the surge in Indian Ocean attacks in the early 2000s.

"One of the things that quite a few organizations are now calling for is really up-to-date guidance on how to deal with wartime issues," she added. "This isn't something that a lot of shipping companies are ready for." The charity has partnered with mental health professionals to produce guidelines and a webinar for crews under sustained stress.

Psychologist Rachel Glynn-Williams, who is involved in developing the webinar, described the physiological impact on crews who have been on high alert for weeks.

"There's this constant higher level of stress and hypervigilance without that ability to reset," she said. "There's exhaustion." She told AFP that recovery timelines vary widely, with some seafarers able to stabilise within hours or days, while others may take considerably longer.