Indian sailors who endured months of danger in the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Iran war are now home but face a grim choice: return to the volatile Gulf to earn a living or stay ashore with their families. More than 3,600 seafarers were evacuated by India's shipping ministry, but thousands remain at risk.
War turns Gulf shipping into a target
India is one of the largest suppliers of sailors to global merchant shipping, with over 320,000 Indian seafarers employed in 2025, according to the shipping ministry. After US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, Tehran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, making commercial vessels military targets. Attacks on Indian-majority crewed ships killed several sailors and wounded others.
Sitaram Tandel, 31, from Gujarat, survived an attack on his Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier in March, weeks after a company-owned crude tanker, Safesea Vishnu, was hit, killing an Indian crew member. “Our luck ran out,” Tandel said. “It was early morning, I was getting ready for my shift when we were struck.” Though the crew escaped physically unharmed, he described the experience as “life-changing” and “unimaginably scary.” He now fears returning to the Gulf but must support his family.
Perilous escape through Hormuz
In June, an American strike on a Palau-flagged vessel off Oman killed three Indian sailors, and attacks on two other ships left dozens needing rescue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue with US President Donald Trump, urging protection for civilian mariners.
Ratheesan Kuttiyan, 45, from Kerala, joined a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo vessel in March but was stranded because the previous crew refused to cross the strait. “We tried hard to cross, but the fighting was too intense,” he said. When hostilities eased, the crew signed waivers and sailed through the danger zone at night. “I will go back if the risk goes down,” he told AFP via telephone at sea.
Seafarers traumatized, families plead for safety
Haridas Puthiyakodi, 49, also from Kerala, was on a cargo ship heading toward Hormuz when the vessel ahead was attacked. His ship turned back to Abu Dhabi. He had not told his wife he was in the war zone. “Now that she knows finally, she says I should never go to the Gulf,” he said. “If I had my way, I wouldn’t either — but then, as a seafarer, you have to sail everywhere.”
Veteran sailor Tanel Hirenkumar Praveenbhai, 42, spent over two decades at sea and had sailed through Hormuz countless times. He joined a Panama-flagged oil tanker in Dubai in February, but war broke out before departure. A helicopter crashed just 10 to 15 meters from his vessel, and missiles passed close by. The crew remained at anchor for nearly three months. “Of course we were scared, but there was nothing we could do,” he said. The vessel left on May 29 after a ceasefire. “I am never going back to Hormuz again,” he declared. “No money is worth more than my life.”
