(UPDATE) AROUND 20,000 seafarers and 15,000 cruise ship passengers are stuck in the Gulf because of the Middle East war, the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) said Thursday.
The shipping regulator’s secretary-general, Arsenio Dominguez, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the “IMO is ready to work with all stakeholders to help ensure the safety and well-being of the seafarers affected.”
The maritime sector said it had designated the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman and Gulf as a “warlike operations area,” granting seafarers additional protections as the Middle East war engulfs the crucial energy transit route.
Since war erupted on Saturday, the IMO has recorded seven incidents involving ships in the region that have resulted in two deaths and another seven people wounded.
“Beyond the economic impact of these alarming attacks, it is a humanitarian issue. No attack on innocent seafarers is ever justified,” Dominguez said.
“I reiterate my call for all shipping companies to exercise maximum caution when operating in the affected region,” he added.
Iran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s crude and considerable supplies of liquefied natural gas travel.
Several shipping groups, including Danish shipping giant Maersk, have suspended bookings in the Gulf.
Maritime employers and unions representing their workers on Thursday said their upgraded designation of the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman and Gulf from a “high risk area designation” three days ago “reflects the continuing and heightened threat to seafarers and vessels operating in the region.”
“Hundreds of vessels are stranded in the Gulf following the halt of vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting the scale of disruption and risk facing civilian crews in the region,” said a joint statement from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the Joint Negotiating Group, which represents maritime employers.
ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton told AFP that after 32 years involvement with the federation, “this is the worst” he has seen it, “because it’s so unclear on the diplomatic level.”
While seafarers can request to leave a ship and be repatriated, the reality is not so clear.
“You can’t push a button, and you immediately leave a vessel,” said Cotton.
“If you’ve got a crew of 25, you probably need 16 to safely run the vessel.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday claimed “complete control” of the Strait, with reports of additional vessels coming under attack.
Energy intelligence firm Kpler said oil tanker transits through the Strait had dropped by 90 percent from last week.
With energy prices already soaring, United States President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US Navy was ready to escort oil tankers through the crucial shipping route.
Benchmark US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, soared more than 5 percent to $78.88 per barrel in trading on Thursday, the highest level since January last year, as the Iran war threatens supplies.
International benchmark, Brent North Sea crude, jumped 3.6 percent to $84.34 per barrel.
Other regions are already classified as “Warlike Operations Area” by the maritime sector, such as parts of the Sea of Azov, the northern Black Sea, the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Based on negotiated arrangements reached on Thursday between mariners and commercial shipping companies, known as the International Bargaining Forum (IBF), seafarers have the right to refuse to sail on ships passing through the Gulf, including the Strait of Hormuz, after the threat level for the region was raised to its highest level.
Around 300 ships are anchored on both sides of the Strait while the US-led war against Iran escalates. Since Feb. 28, nine ships have been damaged and at least one seafarer has been killed.
“Today’s designation ensures that seafarers on vessels covered by IBF agreements have critical protections if they operate in this dangerous region,” ITF’s Cotton said. “The fact we have to take these measures at all is a damning indictment of the situation facing seafarers today. No worker should have to risk being killed or maimed simply for doing their job — particularly when that job is transporting the oil and goods that keep the world’s economies running.”
The war has also prompted a growing number of Filipino migrant workers in the Middle East to seek repatriation.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said 299 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, have returned home.
A further 34 OFWs arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on an Emirates flight on Friday, the DMW said.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac led a government team in welcoming the Filipinos home.
In a Facebook post, Cacdac thanked the airline and the United Arab Emirates government for helping bring the OFWs home.
During a hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Friday, officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said they were closely monitoring the situation of OFWs in the Middle East and preparing possible evacuation and repatriation efforts as the war in the region escalates.
Sen. Erwin Tulfo, who heads the committee, noted that the closure of airspace in parts of the region has prevented many OFWs from immediately returning home.
DFA Assistant Secretary Ezzedin Tago said the agency has instructed all foreign service posts in the region to keep communication channels open and respond immediately to requests for help.
Embassies have also created communication channels through WhatsApp to monitor developments and maintain contact with Filipinos in their jurisdictions.
Cacdac, who was also at the hearing, said the DMW is being updated on the situation on the ground by Filipino community leaders in eight countries across the region.
He said the government will prioritize evacuation based primarily on the level of danger in the areas where Filipinos are located.
“We have been carefully monitoring the areas attacked by Iranian drones and missiles in every country,” Cacdac told the committee. “Filipinos in nearby areas will be among the first to be moved out for evacuation.”
For example, OFWs living near critical facilities such as the Ras Tanura Refinery in eastern Saudi Arabia may be prioritized for evacuation, he said.
Aside from security risks, medical and humanitarian considerations are also factored into the government’s decision on who will be repatriated first, Cacdac said.
He cited a recent case of an eight-month pregnant Filipina worker who was repatriated to the Philippines on an Emirates flight.
Tulfo expressed concerns about domestic workers who might be reluctant to leave their employers.
Cacdac said Filipino workers may inform their employers if they need to proceed to the nearest Philippine Embassy or government shelter for safety.
Embassies and DMW offices could also coordinate with employers to facilitate the transfer of workers to embassy custody — a process implemented during crises involving Filipino workers in Syria and Lebanon, he said.
